Reversals of Fortune
by cmar
Summary: PRTF: Another day, another dimension. Eric, Wes, and Jen come face to face with other versions of themselves, some similar, some very different in some very unexpected ways. Sequel to 'Crossroads'. Part 12 'Time' series, Complete.
1. Takeoff

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this. 

Gaby is mine. All who strongly dislike OCs and/or Eric paired with one, take warning; she's in this a lot, in one form or another.

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references.

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. Basically all you need to know is that Jen was able to stay in our time, she and Wes have been married for over a year, and Eric is living with his girlfriend Gaby.

Reviews are always greatly appreciated.

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Takeoff

- - -

"How did I let you talk me into this again?"

Eric got only a grin from Wes and a more subdued smile from Jen before the two of them turned back to each other. A hand fell on his shoulder and Alan Collins smiled at him for a moment before moving closer to his son and daughter-in-law. He felt another hand tighten on his and looked down to see Gaby's face. She smiled but said nothing.

"Exactly why are _we_ the guinea pigs again?" he grumbled when no one answered.

"I'm still officially a Time Force officer," Jen answered. "And you two are honorary officers. The Force even equipped our morphers with some new enhancements for this mission."

"Yeah," Wes said. "Built-in personal flyers, like your TF Eagle. It'll be nice not to have to hitch a ride on your wing anymore."

"_My_ morpher didn't get anything new. So what am I supposed to be getting out of this?"

"You get to keep it. The morphers do come with some responsibilities, you know," Jen said, "like cooperating in a project like this."

"I don't see why they have to do this in the first place. Why dimensional travel? Haven't you guys gotten in enough trouble with time travel?"

Of course, he had to admit that without time travel he wouldn't have gotten his morpher and the power that went with it. He wouldn't have become a Ranger, wouldn't have gotten his job, wouldn't have run into Wes again, or met Jen, or have ended up with a house, a car, a girlfriend, all the good things in his life.

But he certainly couldn't say the same about dimensional travel. The last time, Wes and he had been shifted through a series of parallel dimensions because of a Time Force experiment gone wrong. They had spent a few very uncomfortable days, not sure if they'd ever be able to get home. That time had been an accident. Now Time Force thought they had their new technology figured out, and wanted to run another experiment. Of course he had refused - at first - but somehow here he was anyway, standing on the beach under a bright morning sun, waiting for it to start.

Jen's brows creased in a frown. "Once it's been invented they have to develop the technology. What if it gets into the wrong hands? With parallel universes creating infinite possibilities, it's bound to happen sooner or later. We have to know the science, and we need to know what kind of other worlds are out there, to be prepared just in case."

"There's something I don't understand," Wes said. "Why us and why now? Why do this experiment in 2005 instead of in their own time?"

"Less likely to be detected, I imagine," Collins said.

"That's one reason," Jen answered. "The other is that you two have done this already. Experience counts, you know."

"Yeah, well, we didn't get that experience willingly," Eric muttered. "And why we're letting them do it to us again-"

"It'll be great, you'll see," Wes interrupted. "All three of us this time, exploring strange new worlds, discovering new people..."

"God. Last time it was _Quantum Leap_, this time it's _Star Trek_."

"Oh, stop complaining," Gaby said unexpectedly. "You don't _have_ to go, you know. You could just stay here if you want to."

"That's right," Wes agreed. "Jen and I could go alone."

"Are you kidding? I'm going along to keep you two out of trouble," Eric responded.

Wes smiled. Jen did too, but absently, as if her mind was on something else. Maybe she actually had more sense than he thought, Eric reflected, and she was worried. This was supposed to be a completely safe mission. Trip, when they had spoken to him over the chrono-communicator, had said that they had everything figured out this time; if everything went smoothly over the next few days they would be shifted into several different dimensions for a few hours each, returning home after each trip. They had their morphers, and Jen had a small communicator to contact Time Force.

"We're not going to get into trouble," Jen said, as if to emphasize his thoughts. "They're not going to put us in any dimensions that are as different from ours as the ones you and Wes went to last time, just ones that are similar to this one. It's perfectly safe."

"Nothing's perfect," Eric growled.

"You're a hopeless pessimist." Wes grinned at him, and then turned away, his arm wrapping around Jen's shoulders. Mr. Collins spoke to them quietly for a minute before leaving them standing together, heads bent close, saying something too soft to be heard. Sweet talk, of course. They were always at it.

And speaking of sweet talk... Gaby was still watching them, her face carefully blank, but that little fold between her eyebrows telling him something was wrong. That opinion was confirmed when she turned her head to look out over the ocean, avoiding his gaze.

She followed easily enough when he tugged at her hand, leading her away from the others. Once they were far enough away not to be overheard, he turned and faced her. "Okay. What's the problem?" he asked.

"What makes you think there's a problem?" She glanced up at him for only half a second before looking down to study their feet, showing him only the gleam of sun on her brown hair.

"I know that look."

"It's nothing."

"Come on, Gabs. Don't worry; like Jen said, it's safe. We'll be back before you know it."

That got her eyes up to meet his as she frowned and then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well then, what is it?" he asked, letting a little impatience creep into his voice.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me. Maybe I'm not as dense as you think."

"I don't think you're dense. You're so paranoid."

"Don't try to change the subject. We're talking about you." Eric hesitated for a moment, studying her downcast face.

Gaby was obviously in one of her rare bad moods. Why she had to pick this particular time, when he had other things to think about, and when she should be concerned instead of annoyed about whatever he had done now... Still, he had to admit she didn't get like this often; usually she was as good-natured as Wes. All the more reason to find out what was wrong.

"Seriously," he said, lowering his voice, "you look upset. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No, you didn't do anything." She sighed slightly. "I wish I was going with you, that's all."

"What? No way!" he said without thinking.

"Why not? Jen's going this time." Her eyes brightened. "It would be so exciting!"

"Jen's a Ranger; you aren't. Something could happen, and you could get hurt. Besides, the experiment's set up for three people. You couldn't go anyway."

"Oh, I guess you're right." The way her face fell almost made him wish there was some way to give her what she wanted, however illogical it was. "Well, it was a nice thought, for a second there." Gaby looked up again. "You think I'm being silly, don't you?"

"Uh... No, of course not," he lied, taking both her hands in his. "Although why anyone would want to go jumping around between dimensions if they don't have to..."

"Yeah, right. And Wes and Jen are holding a gun to your head. Admit it; you're looking forward to it."

"Am not." He smiled, relieved, as she grinned.

"You should be." She waved a hand at the others. "You guys get to fight crooks all the time, on top of the mutants a few years ago."

"Well... you fight crime, too."

"Yeah, right, a computer security manager has such a thrilling life. You've traveled through time. Now you get to go to other dimensions. See things no one in this world has ever seen." Her eyes sparkled. "You're a Ranger, with all the powers that morpher gives you. A superhero. It must be wonderful."

Eric was tempted to laugh. "It's not so great when you've got someone like Ransik or Conwing trying to fry your butt. You ought to know; you've had some exciting times too."

"Yeah. Great. I got to be the damsel in distress." Now she looked wistful, that trace of unhappiness back in her face. "I want to be the hero for once. The heroine. I want to have the morpher, and fight the bad guys, and save the day, and have everyone admire me..."

"What, you want me to give you my morpher?"

"Well..." Gaby's eyes fell to his wrist, and the device strapped to it. "Sometimes I've thought about it."

"Gaby..."

"I know; you can't. I don't blame you; you went through a lot to get it, and keep it. You're the one who risks your neck every day to use it to help people."

Eric shrugged. "Just doing my job."

"Yeah, but it's more than that. At least to me." She looked up into his face again, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "I grew up reading about Superman and Batman, the whole bunch of superheroes, wondering what it would be like to know them, or be one of them myself. You're like all of them rolled into one, in real life. So - amazing. Sometimes I just wish I could be a part of it."

Now thoroughly embarrassed but also touched, Eric bent his head to kiss her quickly, finding her smiling as he straightened again. "You _are_ a part of it," he said.

"Just a little part, out on the sidelines. Not like you, and Wes and Jen."

"You're important to _me_. And besides, it's not as wonderful as you seem to think. I used to feel the same way, until I realized how much of a responsibility it is, and how much of a pain in the neck it can be. Like today."

"But you still wouldn't give it up for anything." She grinned suddenly, seeming to shake off her mood. "You're right. It must be awful, going off on another exciting adventure, exploring strange places and fighting off monsters and villains..."

"I'm hoping for a nice, short, boring adventure. And I guess we should get back to the others. This show's going to start soon."

- - -

"So - exactly what's going to happen?" Wes asked.

"No thunderstorms, like before," Jen said. "Time Force said the effect would be much more focused. It should look a little like a timehole, but smaller."

The three of them; Eric, Wes, and Jen, were standing together on an empty stretch of sand, a few yards from where the waves were gently washing to shore. Collins and Gaby had withdrawn to where the cars were parked at the roadside above the beach, far enough away to ensure they would not be accidentally taken along, the way Tommy Oliver had been the last time. They'd be safe - assuming anything actually happened.

"What's the holdup?" Eric asked irritably, glancing down at his watch. "I thought we'd be done with this by lunch."

"Man, we're making history, about to travel to a different universe, and you're worried about missing lunch." Wes grinned at him.

"Lunch is very important. But I guess a rich boy like you never has to worry about practical things like food."

"You guys should be brothers, the way you squabble," Jen said.

"Maybe in some other dimension, we are." Wes looked up, his smile fading. "Uh, guys... I think our ride's here."

Eric turned his eyes to the sky, suppressing the sudden urge to run as he saw it. It did look like a junior version of a timehole, a little, as it materialized out of the air above them; a swirl of energy spinning slowly, widening and deepening into a whirlpool draining into nowhere. It was light instead of the black and purple of a timehole, almost as if it was made of trapped moonlight, shards and fragments of silvery brightness twinkling as they swept overhead.

It was getting closer - bigger, lengthening onto a funnel that reached down for them, plunging to the ground and encasing them in a wall of white light. Eric took a step back from it and felt Wes and Jen crowding against him. _I knew this was a bad idea..._ was his last thought before the light - just disappeared, gone as if it had never existed. And he knew they were somewhere else.

- - -

"Somehow I expected more."

Wes's voice sounded disappointed. Eric would never admit it, but a part of him agreed. This just seemed - ordinary. True, Collins and Gaby, along with their cars, had been gone when they arrived wherever this was, but that seemed to be the only difference. They had flown closer to town, giving Wes and Jen a chance to use their new flyers; landed out of anyone's sight, and were now unmorphed again and walking through the streets near Bio-Lab. Jen had produced the small instrument that doubled as a communicator to Time Force in their home dimension and as a sensor, and was waving it at everything in sight, but so far they had noticed nothing different from their own universe.

"We might as well have stayed home," he said. "Wes is right, nothing's different."

"I guess it's perfectly possible that a parallel dimension would be almost identical to ours," Jen said. "There could be differences so small that we'd never notice them."

"So what's the point?" Wes stopped. "Maybe we should just head back to the beach. Take it easy until it's time to go home again."

"We haven't exactly done a detailed examination of this reality. We've still got plenty of time, and as long as we're here we might as well keep looking." She raised the instrument again. "At least I can take more readings to send back to Time Force."

Eric was no longer listening, as he noticed something strange ahead. At the other end of the block they were standing on, people were stopping, staring, retreating hastily. He caught the sound of alarmed voices. A young man dashed into sight, turned the corner, and headed straight for them at a run. And behind him in pursuit...

"Hey, I think I see a difference right there," Eric said.

"_Cyclobots?_" Wes exclaimed. "What are they doing still here?"

"I'd say they're chasing that guy."

"Well, come on!"

"Wes, stop!" It was Jen, holding onto Wes's arm. "We don't even know what's going on."

"But... he needs help! We can't just stand here and let them-"

Eric had stopped listening again. The man - about his own age, maybe an inch or two shorter, and with dark brown hair and a face that seemed oddly familiar - was passing them, looking scared, as if he was running for his life. Eric moved aside as the cyclobots came at him and stuck out a foot, hooking the ankle of the nearest robot and sending it toppling to the cement with a clatter. The others stopped and turned.

"Eric, what are you doing?"

"Been a while since I kicked metal butt." Eric began to circle between the cyclobots and their quarry. There were only four of them, easy enough to take unmorphed, unless there was a mutant lurking nearby. As he had expected, after a second they charged.

Just like old times. The thought rose in his mind as he ducked under a wild swinging punch and rammed his shoulder into the robot's middle, knocking it down. A kick in the face flattened it again as it began to get up. Wes was tackling one of them, and Jen had apparently changed her mind and was jumping to land a hard kick into another's chest. That left the fourth... Eric heard a crash and spun to see the last robot staggering, a public garbage can firmly wedged over its upper body as the man they had been chasing stepped back from behind it.

"Nice one," Eric said, and saw him grin. A punch and another kick, and the brief fight was over, the cyclobot wearing the garbage can was out of commission and the others chose the better part of valor and ran for their metallic 'lives'.

"Hey, thanks," the brown-haired man said. "You guys really saved my neck. You were great!" As Eric tried not to stare, he turned his attention to the fallen robot, taking a few steps away to look at it more closely.

Wes and Jen had moved to Eric's side, and were also watching. "Man, that guy looks just like Gaby," Wes said, his voice lowered.

"Yeah. Maybe in this dimension she has a brother," Eric answered, just as softly. Like Gaby... that was why he had seemed so familiar, even at first glance. Maybe why he had instinctively helped him, Eric realized. Yes, there was a strong resemblance, even down to the voice. A very strong resemblance.

It was Jen who asked, as the man returned and faced them with an expression that was quickly becoming just as puzzled as their own. "We were wondering," she started. "Do you know a Gabriella Butler? Your sister, maybe?"

"That's strange. My name's Butler. Gabriel Butler, but everyone calls me Gabe. No sister." His eyes were on Eric's face now, examining it curiously. "But it's funny you should ask... You look an awful lot like my girlfriend. Her name's Erica Myers. Maybe you're related?"

- - -

  
TBC... 


	2. What's Good for the Goose

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

What's Good for the Goose

- - -

"Your girlfriend," Wes echoed with a slightly choked sound. "Erica Myers." 

"Yeah. She's one of the commanders of the Silver Guardians, at Bio-Lab." Gabe waved a hand at the buildings they could see several blocks away as his eyes moved from Wes to Jen. "Come to think of it, both of you kind of look like..." He hesitated, confusion and a hint of suspicion growing in his expression. "Who _are_ you people, anyway?" 

"Would you excuse us for a minute, please?" Jen said, and drew the two of them a few steps away. 

"I think we just found another difference," Wes murmured. "And a pretty big one." 

"Just a minor change in genetics," Jen said. "A Y chromosome instead of an X." 

"Sounds like vice versa too." 

"Man. Weird!" Eric exclaimed, glancing back at the male version of Gaby, who had a cellphone to his ear now, with an inner shiver. "Gabe... this is just... weird." 

"Don't forget Erica." A twinkle had appeared in Wes's eye. 

"Me as a woman? I don't even want to think about it," Eric said with a shudder. 

"Why not? You make being a woman sound like a disease," Jen said. 

"Yeah." Wes's twinkle had become a smirk. "I bet you make a really hot looking woman." 

"Wes!" Jen smacked his shoulder, but spoiled the effect with a giggle. 

"Hey, I'm just saying." 

"Well, _just say_ something else, rich boy." 

"I think we should meet her." Wes returned his glare with an innocent look. "We're supposed to be investigating this reality. Why not talk to our counterparts?" 

"Why _should_ we?" 

"We could ask them what those cyclobots are doing here, for starters." 

"Wouldn't that be interfering with other realities or something?" He looked to Jen hopefully. 

She smiled, crossing her arms. "Sorry, but Wes is right. We're in another dimension, not in our own past. Talking to our alternate selves shouldn't be a problem even if we tell them who we are, plus we need the information. That's what this experiment is all about." 

"I still don't like it," Eric grumbled. 

"Looks like we don't have a choice, anyway," Wes said, nudging Jen's arm. "Look." 

A black SUV, exactly like one of their own Silver Guardian vehicles, was approaching rapidly from the direction of Bio-Lab. As they watched, it swerved to the curb. Almost before it had come to a halt the doors sprang open and two people jumped out. Two women, was Eric's first impression. Both average height, athletic and attractive figures, one with short black hair and Asian eyes, the other with longer dark blonde hair. They both stopped to talk to Gabe, the black-haired woman briefly grasping his arms, a concerned expression on her face. Gabe pointed. They turned, stared at Eric, Wes, and Jen, and came closer. 

And then he was face to face with her - a square-jawed face only a little softer than the one he saw every day in the mirror, dark eyes glinting with suspicion and unconcealed hostility, mouth in a firm, cold line. For an instant it occurred to him that this was what most people saw when _he_ looked at them. 

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded harshly. 

"Eric Myers." He had the momentary satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen slightly. "And you must be Erica Myers." 

"Yeah." She frowned. "I don't have any twin brothers that I know of. I'm going to ask one more time. Who are you?" 

"Take it easy, Erica," the blonde woman interrupted. "We'd both like an explanation." She was facing off with Wes, the two of them like reflections in a distorted mirror. Erica shot her a glare but said nothing. Eric felt a shiver and fought it off. 

"I'm Wes Collins," Wes said, starting to smile. "And don't tell me. Your last name is Collins, too." 

"Not anymore." The blonde looked even more puzzled. "It's Wendy Collins Scotts now." 

Jen stepped in as Wes looked startled and then grinned. "We do have an explanation, but it'll take awhile. Is there somewhere we can go?" 

"I don't like this," Erica said, crossing her arms. "How do we know we can trust them?" 

Wendy was examining Jen's face. "I want to hear this," she said. "We can go to Silver Guardians headquarters. And I think I'd better call Jon." 

"Good idea," Wes said. He glanced at Jen and then at Eric. "This should be interesting, for all of us." 

- - -

"Man, this is all the same. Exactly the same," Wes was saying, staring around as they walked through a familiar corridor towards the small conference room they usually used for meetings. 

_Not the same one _we_ use,_ Eric corrected himself. Still, Wes was right. Everything was exactly the same. Or not quite everything... he blinked as what appeared to be a female version of Steve Miller passed them, returning his surprised stare. 

"Now _that_ is weird," Wes muttered. 

"Yeah. This is starting to give me the creeps," Eric answered. 

"Why?" Jen's voice came from just behind them. 

Eric was saved from attempting an answer as they filed through the door and found seats around the conference table. Unfortunately, as he reached for his chair, another hand bumped into his. "Sorry," he said, letting a sarcastic note creep into his voice as he eyed the near-mirror image of his own face that looked up at him, "but this is where I usually sit." 

"You mean where _I _sit." Erica yanked the chair out and gave him a faint but triumphant smirk as she slid into it. 

"Fine," he muttered under his breath as he took the chair next to hers. "_Ladies_ first." He took some satisfaction from her irritated glare. 

"O-kay..." Wendy said from the other side of the table. She and Wes were seated side-by-side. They traded an amused glance. "I guess some things never change... Can we settle down now? I can't wait to hear this." 

"Excuse me..." There was a tap on the still partially open door. They all looked up to see a tallish young man with wavy brown hair and a dusting of freckles across his nose framed in the doorway. Eric knew who he was instantly. 

"Come on in." Wendy smiled at the man. 

He bent to kiss her, his eyes on Wes. Then he straightened, facing Jen, and after a moment held out his hand. "You must be Jen," he said. "I'm Jon. Jonathan Scotts." 

"Jennifer Scotts Collins," she murmured, at last looking somewhat shaken up. "I was expecting this, but I have to admit it's still a shock." 

"For me too. I thought Wendy must be exaggerating, but... So you two are married, like Wendy and me?" 

"Yes, for over a year now." 

Wendy grinned up at them. "We were married on Valentine's Day." 

"So were we!" Wes exclaimed. "Are you living in Dad's - your father's house?" 

"No, my mother's. She owns Bio-Lab." 

"Figures," Eric said. "Mrs. Collins instead of Mr. Collins." 

"That's _Ms_," Erica corrected with narrowed eyes. 

"Whatever. Seems like everyone is reversed here." 

"Here?" His opposite number frowned. "Okay, your turn. Who are you? Where did you come from?" 

Eric and Wes both turned to Jen, leaving it to her to explain. Jon took a seat next to his wife and looked expectant. Gabe sat on Erica's other side and leaned forward. Jen took her time, first explaining how Wes and Eric had been caught in the side effects when the Time Force of another reality had begun experimenting with dimensional travel. 

"So - the two of you were accidentally shifted to another dimension?" Jon asked. 

"Yes, we were," Wes said. "More than one. We had no idea at the time what was going on or how to get home." 

"It must have been terrible," Wendy commented. 

"Some of it was. Some was pretty interesting. Especially when we met alternate versions of people we know." 

"Not of yourselves?" 

"No. Maybe it's surprising, but this is the first time either of us have actually talked to - ourselves. Sort of." 

"Then - how did you get here now? Another accident?" 

"No. While we were lost, Time Force in our own dimension worked with the Time Force in the reality which had caused the problem to try and bring us back. That's how they got the technology. Now they're developing it, and this is their first trial run." 

"Interesting." Jon drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "If events are parallel in our worlds, our Time Force should make the same discovery soon." 

"Maybe. We saw worlds that were very much like ours, and others that were really different," Wes said. "This one has some obvious differences - but also, there's the cyclobots that were attacking Gabe. In our world we defeated Ransik years ago, and the cyclobots were all destroyed." 

Wendy answered him. "We captured Ransika and her son, Nadir, years ago too. But Frax escaped." 

"Frax? Male?" 

"If a robot can have a gender - no," Jon said. "Frax is a robot with the transplanted brain of a scientist from my own time, Dr. Louise Fericks." 

"It was Louis Fericks in our world. And in our world he died in the final battle, about four years ago." 

"Here she survived, but her robot body was severely damaged. She disappeared and we thought she was gone, but a little over a year ago she found a partner, a scientist from Bio-Lab who's gone criminal. The two of them have been building more cyclobots." 

"A scientist from Bio-Lab? Who?" Eric asked, suspicion sharpening his voice. 

"Her name's Norma Ryder. She's brilliant in several areas, including electronics. Unfortunately for us." 

Eric turned to look at the male equivalent of his girlfriend. "Don't tell me. She's also got a crush on Gabe." 

"Well - yeah," Gabe answered, looking slightly embarrassed. "Also unfortunately. For me." 

"And that's why the cyclobots were after you. In our world, pretty much the same kind of thing happened. Norman Ryder kidnapped Gaby and tried to brainwash her into falling for him." He watched as Erica reached for Gabe's hand. Somehow it was annoying. 

"What about you, Jon?" Wes asked. "Did you have to go back to your own time after you captured Ransik - I mean Ransika? How did you get to stay here?" 

"I did go back. Then there was another mission to this time, and I saw Wendy again - not for long enough..." He smiled at his wife and took her hand. "Later, another criminal from our time succeeded in altering history so that she could take over Time Force. In that new timeline, we - the Rangers - discovered what had happened. Lucie, Trix, Kevin, and Alex were killed trying to correct it." 

"Alex?" Jen asked. 

"Alexandra, my former fiancée. I escaped, and returned to this time. Together, the three of us put history back the way it was supposed to be, and the reality I came from was wiped out. My teammates were alive again, but my own timeline was gone. That's how I could stay here." 

"Exactly the same as what happened to me." 

"And now - we've just found out we're expecting our first child." Jon gave Wendy a warm smile and glanced at Jen inquiringly. 

Eric had the impression that a look of what he could only identify as alarm crossed her face, so quickly that he couldn't be sure. The next moment she was smiling and saying, "Not everything's the same in our worlds. Congratulations." 

"Yeah, congratulations! That's great!" Wes said. "We've been trying, and I guess we'll get there soon too, huh, Jen?" 

"Sure. Soon." 

Eric frowned, vaguely disturbed. Something was off. But he had no time to think about it, as the sound of a very familiar siren cut through the air. Beside him, Erica reached a hand up to adjust her headset, an abstracted look on her face as she listened to the earpiece. They all waited until she looked up, eyes wide. 

"It's the main building. We're being attacked by cyclobots. A lot of them." 

"What are we waiting for?" Wendy stood up and started for the door. "Come on!" 

"Wen, wait! You can't be fighting in your condition!" Jon exclaimed as he followed. 

"If you think I'm going to just stand around, you are so wrong..." Her voice faded down the hall as the two of them disappeared with Erica on their heels. 

Wes was already on his feet. "Well? Are we going to help them?" he asked. 

"Would it make any difference if I said no?" Eric asked as he got up. 

"Nope. Jen?" 

"Let's do it." 

- - -

They charged through the doorway into the main lobby and stopped, confronted by a mass of cyclobots and shouting, screaming people. Robots ran across the floor, overturning furniture, chasing frightened employees. Wendy and Jon, a few steps in front of them, swung their arms and turned sideways together, brought their hands together and touched their morphers, shouting, "Time for Time Force!" 

"Again the yelling?" Eric muttered as they morphed in a bright cascade of color. "What is it with these other dimensions, anyway?" 

At almost the same moment, Erica lifted her wrist to her face and shouted, "Quantum Power!" and was transformed into Eric's familiar suit, although with some unfamiliar curves. Beside her, Wendy was now in red and Jon in purple. 

"I was kind of wondering whether he'd be pink," Wes murmured. 

"Never mind that," Jen said. "Come on!" 

They morphed and headed for their counterparts. Jon appeared to be trying to stay between Wendy and any cyclobots who came near, while she tried in vain to get past him. Erica had been overrun by a clump of the robots and was struggling in their grip, pivoting on one hip to drive one away with a vicious kick. Eric charged into the group, shoving at them. He jumped, propping himself on a metal shoulder, and crashed feet first into the three holding her. They all sprawled onto the floor. 

Erica was the first back on her feet. She yanked out her Quantum Defender and fired, putting two cyclobots out of commission in as many seconds. Eric was up by that time and moved to cover her back. 

"I don't need your help!" she exclaimed, and dashed after a cyclobot which was attacking a man a few yards away. 

"Ungrateful little...!" Eric growled. 

"I heard that!" 

Thinking dark thoughts, Eric took them out on the mass of robots around him, using his own blaster to quickly clear a space. Left with a moment to catch his breath, he looked around for more enemies - and saw an almost-familiar face on the other side of the large room. 

She was surrounded by cyclobots but there was no mistaking who she was, as she pointed and shouted a command that sent a couple of robots running into a side corridor. Silvery hair and pale violet skin, an expression of rage as she caught sight of Erica. The female version of Norman Ryder. 

Shouts and blaster fire announced the arrival of a squad of Silver Guardians. The two red Rangers and the pink and purple Rangers seemed to be having little trouble taking care of the cyclobots. Time to go after the source of the problem, before she had a chance to get away. 

With a fist here, a kick there, and generous use of the Quantum Defender, Eric was across the room in seconds, diving through Norma's bodyguard of cyclobots as she backed away with a look of alarm. "Who the hell are _you_?" she shouted. 

"I'm the Ranger who's going to stop you!" 

"Get away from me!" 

Eric reached for her as she turned for the door leading outside. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back around. She yanked away with a strength beyond that of a normal human, the effects of the mutating treatment that had changed her skin and hair color, just like the Norman he had fought before. Eric raised a fist. And hesitated, just long enough for her to pull a blaster and aim it at his head. 

There was a brilliant flash of light - but no pain or shock. Eric blinked, and saw Norma staggering back, clutching her wrist. A glance over his shoulder showed Erica just behind him, weapon still aimed, before she sprang forward and drove a fist into Norma's jaw. 

As the silver-haired woman dropped Eric looked around, but there was sudden quiet. The floor of the lobby was littered with demolished cyclobots. The other Rangers were approaching as Guardians moved cautiously around with drawn blasters. 

"What's the matter, didn't want to hit a _girl_?" Erica demanded as she holstered her own blaster. 

Eric turned away, growling under his breath, "The idea's getting more appealing by the second." 

"I heard that!" 

The others joined them as Wendy quickly knelt and checked Norma, and then looked up. "She's out. We finally got her." 

Jon reached to rest a hand on Wes's and Erica's shoulders. "Great work, everyone." 

- - -

"I kind of wish we could stay longer and see more of this world," Jen was saying to Jon as they all stood in the empty Silver Guardians' exercise yard behind Bio-Lab's main building. "But we're only supposed to spend a few hours in each dimension. We have to be getting back." 

"Yeah... Too bad," Jon said, holding out a hand. "I want to thank you for helping us capture Norma. Without her, Frax shouldn't be much of a problem." 

"It's been really great meeting all of you," Wes said. He grinned at his counterpart. "Congratulations again." 

"Thanks. Yeah, it's really cool to see what I'd look like as a man." 

"Hm. It's been... interesting," Eric said as he and Erica stared coldly at each other. 

"Uh-huh. Same to you." 

With the goodbyes said, Eric, Wes, and Jen moved a safe distance away. Jen pulled her sensor-communicator from her pocket, opened the lid, and paused, her finger on one of the tiny buttons inside. "This was a good start," she said, looking at their counterparts. 

"Just hurry up and let's get out of here," Eric said. Jen nodded and bent her head over the communicator. 

"What's the rush?" Wes asked. That same annoying twinkle appeared in his eye. "Don't you like it here?" 

"Damn weird dimension. Women in charge of Bio-Lab and the Guardians. Women scientists, a whole bunch of women Rangers, a female Ransik, female Frax..." 

"What's weird about that?" Jen asked. "You don't seem to think anything's wrong with our dimension, with so many male Rangers and men in charge of everything." 

"It's just..." A glance at her face convinced Eric the wisest course would be to say nothing. And she was right, not that he was about to admit it. 

"I still say Erica's pretty hot," Wes murmured. 

"Then you've got lousy taste. That arrogant, pushy, rude, inconsiderate-" 

"She's _you_, Eric," Wes said with a chuckle. "Down to the last mannerism, she's you." 

"I'm tempted to think you don't like yourself very much," Jen added. As Eric scowled, ready to protest that he was nothing like Erica, absolutely nothing like her at all, and that the very idea was ridiculous and insulting; she cut off any further discussion by looking up and saying quietly, "It's here." 

The same silvery whirlpool of distorted space appeared above their heads and descended swiftly. Eric felt Wes and Jen at his back as they instinctively moved away from the bright wall of energy surrounding them. This time felt different, though - a tingling, almost a pulling sensation, then a sort of snap as the light disappeared, leaving the three of them staggering to catch their balance. 

"Wow. That was different," Wes said. 

"Yes, it was. I wonder why," Jen said. She looked around. "Anyway, looks like we're back home, at Bio-Lab." 

There was a noise. The sound of blasters. Not far away. Eric looked for the source and saw a flash from behind the shed where the Guardians kept their spare training equipment. "What's that?" he asked, even as he started for it. 

The three of them rounded the corner at a run, and stopped abruptly at the sight that met their eyes. "Uh oh," Wes said softly. 

An understatement, Eric thought. Before them, a fight was going on. Three large, strange, and ugly creatures which could only be mutants were attacking, large and equally ugly weapons in their hands. But that wasn't the part that brought an angry growl to Eric's lips. 

"Christ. It's the Quantum bi-" He cut himself off. No, it wasn't Erica, not quite. She was wearing a Ranger suit, red with black trim and jagged edges like his, but the symbols on her chest and back were pentagons outlined in rainbow colors: red, blue, green, yellow, and pink. "Damn," he said. "Tell Time Force to go back to the drawing board. Looks like we're lost again." 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	3. Imbalance of Power part 1

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Imbalance of Power - part 1

- - -

"Are we lost? Or could this be our world?" Wes asked. He turned to Jen. 

"I don't know," she said tightly, eyes down as she pointed her sensor device at the mutant-like creatures. "Hard to see how something like this could have happened in our world in only a few hours. I'll have to try contacting Time Force." 

Eric was only half listening, his eyes on the battle being played out in front of them. The three creatures attacking the lone Ranger were just as ugly on second glance as on first. One was tall and skeletally thin with startling blue skin; one was short, soft-looking, and almost as round as a balloon, its skin yellow; the third was grotesquely muscular and colored red. All three were equipped with nasty-looking blasters, and the muscular one was also holding a larger, bazooka-like weapon. There was another exchange of energy bolts. The Ranger had taken cover behind a car, but she was obviously outgunned. 

Speaking of the Ranger - she was clearly a woman, but other than that unidentifiable inside the suit. The suit that was so like his own. Still another version of himself? Eric swallowed, somehow queasy at the thought of seeing himself again in female form, and even more at seeing that self apparently fighting for her life... 

"Are we going to help her?" he burst out. 

"We don't know what's going on here..." 

There was another burst of blaster shots, a rapid volley of them, coming from the other side of the shed they were standing next to. A quick flash of navy blue appeared. "Silver Guardians!" Wes muttered. 

The Guardians were attacking the creatures, but it wasn't going to be enough, Eric could see that at a glance. As he watched, hesitating, there was a flare of return fire, and a scream of pain from one of the blue-uniformed men. The mystery Ranger whirled, shouted, "Get back! Get back!" and turned again to her enemy. But the moment of distraction had done its damage; the creatures ran closer, beams of light from all three converging on her. She went down with a cry as they raised their weapons again and took aim. 

"That does it!" Eric yelled. "Quantum Power!" 

He ran, putting himself between the other Ranger and her opponents, pulling the Quantum Defender as he went and sending three shots to catch each mutant squarely. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to hurt them much, and now they were all aiming at _him_... But two more forms, red and pink, appeared at his side, blasters ready. There was movement behind him as the other Ranger climbed back to her feet, a little unsteady but aiming her blaster. For a few tense moments they faced off, frozen. Then the tall, thin being lowered his weapon. 

"I don't know how you've regained your powers, but it won't do you any good. We took them before, and we'll do it again!" he shouted. Before any of them could ask what he meant, he touched a device on his belt and vanished in a flare of colored light, along with his companions. 

"What was that all about?" Wes asked. 

"No idea," Jen said. "But I'd like to find out." 

They turned, to see the Ranger they had rescued starting to sway. She took an unsteady step forward and stretched a hand out to them. "Eric... Eric, you came back..." she gasped. 

"What...?" The voice was familiar, dreadfully so. Eric could only stare in shock as there was a bright burst of rainbow light, and a brown-haired woman stood demorphed before them. Before they could react, her eyes rolled up and her knees buckled. She collapsed to the ground, unconscious. 

It was Wes who said it. "_Gaby?_" 

- - -

"Shit!" 

"Eric, would you cut it out? Cursing won't help." 

"God _damn_ shit." 

"Eric..." 

"What the hell was she thinking? And how did she get the morpher? She could have been killed!" 

"Eric..." 

"Damn it to hell!" 

"Eric, stop it!" 

"Gaby's half dead because she was playing at being a Ranger! Don't tell me not to curse!" 

There had been nothing but confusion after the creatures had disappeared. As the Guardians scrambled to care for their wounded, Eric had demorphed and carried Gaby inside the main building, to the infirmary. A doctor had checked her over briefly and Wes and Jen had joined him after making sure the injured men were also being taken care of. 

Jen sighed impatiently. "The doctor said she only fainted. And she's not _our_ Gaby." 

"That's right," Wes said quietly. "From what I've heard the guys say, we're all back from - somewhere, and Gaby's been a Ranger for about a month now." 

"Are you sure we're not in our own reality? Maybe we landed in the future? We shifted in time before, as well as jumping between dimensions." 

"Well..." The glance Wes and Jen exchanged was answer enough. "We'll have to find out more," Jen said finally. 

"Eric... Wes? Jen?" The voice behind them brought Eric around to face a short, dark-haired man in a Silver Guardian uniform. 

"Steve!" 

"Nice of you to come back." Steve Miller, their next in command, shot him a confusingly hostile glance before gripping Wes's arms. "Wes! Man, I don't know how you did it, but this is great! You too, Jen! Are you okay?" 

"Uh... sure, Steve," Wes said. "Look, I know this is going to sound crazy, but where have we been?" 

"Where...?" Steve stepped back. "Don't you remember?" 

"I think we're not who you think we are," Jen said. 

The following round of confused stares was interrupted as a faint groan from the bed Eric was standing over attracted everyone's attention. Gaby blinked up at them, her gaze quickly focusing on Eric's face. Her expression swiftly turned from dazed to the beginnings of a happy smile, to anger, to surprise as her eyes found Wes and Jen. 

"Are you okay?" Eric asked. 

Propping herself on her elbows, she gave him a distinctly unfriendly stare. "What's the matter, forgot to pack something?" she demanded. 

"Huh?" 

"How'd you get a morpher again? Don't tell me, you probably stole it." 

"What are you talking about?" 

Ignoring him, she swung her legs over the edge and sat up, a smile breaking over her face. "Wes! Jen! Boy, is it good to see _you_. And thanks for helping me back there." 

"Hey, I helped too!" Eric protested. 

"Hmm." Gaby gave him only a cool glance. "I guess. Thanks loads." 

"Now wait a damn minute..." 

"Before anyone starts arguing, I think we need to all calm down and have a nice little talk," Jen said. "Steve, Gaby, we need to find out what's been going on here. And we need to tell you our own story." 

- - -

"So it's really true." Gaby had opened the door quietly and led them inside. Steve had left a few minutes ago to check on his injured men, still shaking his head in disbelief at the story Jen, Wes, and Eric had told. Gaby had brought them here. Now Eric, Wes, Jen, and Gaby stood in silence, staring at the five people lying in five hospital beds neatly lined up along one wall of this room tucked away in a corner of the Silver Guardians infirmary wing. 

"I can't believe this..." Jen seemed dazed, as she moved slowly from one to the next. First Trip, his green hair bright against the white pillow, his fingers digging into the covers over his chest despite his state of unconsciousness. Then Katie, her face as serene as if she was only sleeping. Lucas, his brows slightly furrowed. And the last two... 

Eric glanced up at the Jen standing over the bed, and then again at the Jen lying there, eyes shut but lids twitching slightly. A strange and disturbing sight. Must be even stranger for her. And then Wes, staring down at the Wes in the fifth bed with a shocked expression. Quietly, without even looking at each other, Wes and Jen reached out and took each other's hands, moving closer together. 

"How long?" Eric asked softly. 

"It's been a month now," Gaby said, her voice lowered as if to avoid disturbing the sleepers. 

"How did it happen?" 

"It was the morphants. They attacked in the city." 

"Morphants?" Wes asked. 

"The creatures you saved me from." 

"I don't understand. And - and why are Lucas, Trip, and Katie still here?" Jen asked. 

Gaby gave her a glance. "They came back when the morphants showed up." 

"You're going to have to explain," Jen said. "In our dimension, we captured Ransik and Nadira in 2001, and Frax was destroyed. All the mutants were taken back to my time. There have been a few more who came to this time period, but none like those three, and none called morphants." 

"Okay." Gaby sighed. "According to what Trip, Lucas, and Katie told us, the morphants are a new type of mutant that was developed in the future specifically to fight the Power Rangers. They're called changed mutants. Morphed mutants, or morphants. They're even stronger and tougher than normal mutants; even stronger than a Ranger. The three who came here are named Mesocon, Endocon, and Ectocon." 

"What are they doing here?" 

"From what I was told, a new mutant criminal leader took over after Ransik reformed, in the future. He sent them here to attack Silver Hills, and especially Bio-Lab. Something about altering the timeline, and preventing Time Force from being created." 

"That makes sense. The Silver Guardians eventually grew into Time Force." 

"I guess. Lucas, Trip, and Katie were sent to help you three. The versions of you who exist here. Anyway, like I said, there was a fight in the city. A big one. I happened to be downtown, shopping, and I saw it. I saw Eric being attacked, and tried to get to him." 

Her eyes were distant now. "The morphants had brought robots with them, like the cyclobots... a big group of them were fighting the others while Eric was fighting Mesocon, Endocon, and Ectocon. They ganged up on him, and blasted him... I saw him demorph. Wes, Jen, and the others saw too, and headed off the morphants before they could kill him. 

"While they were all fighting I ran to Eric, to try and drag him away someplace safe. He was alive, but knocked out. There were explosions all around... yelling, cyclobots running... I was so scared..." She took a shaky breath. "Anyway, I was pulling on Eric, the rest of them were all fighting. I saw the Rangers all get demorphed. Then I heard one of the morphants shout something like, 'You have no defense against our greatest weapon! We'll make you powerless!' Something like that. There was a humming sound, and when I looked they had a bazooka-like thing aimed at Wes, Jen, Trip, Lucas, and Katie. They fired it. I saw the beam hit the Rangers and then the weapon sort of exploded in sparks. 

"There was a light, all different colors, like we were in the middle of a rainbow. Then a big burst of light from all five of the Rangers, pink from Jen, red from Wes, and so on. The colors seemed to spread all around, and I had to shut my eyes. Then I heard Eric moaning, and I looked, and the colors all seemed to be sort of draining into his morpher. Hard to describe. It was glowing. He was half-awake, and it seemed to be hurting him; he was shaking and I heard him say, 'Get it off!' So I did. I pulled the morpher off his wrist. It was hot, and it gave me sort of an electrical shock, but I held on. 

"The morphants started yelling at me, 'No! It was supposed to be ours! Give it to us!' Like that. They were running right at me, waving their blasters. I just froze. And then..." She lifted her arm, the duplicate of Eric's Quantum Morpher strapped on her wrist. "It talked to me. The morpher. I could 'hear' it in my head, saying to put it on and activate it. I did, and I said 'Quantum Power,' and next thing I knew... Well, you saw. I became the Rainbow Ranger. Luckily, the morphants were surprised enough to run away, because I sure didn't know what to do then." 

"The weapon they used somehow made the Quantum Morpher work for you?" Eric asked. 

"Not just that. It somehow absorbed the energy from the other five Rangers. I have more than the Quantum powers; I can call on the chrono-sabers and chrono-blasters as well as the Defender and TF Eagle. I seem to be about as strong as two of you combined, as strong as one of the morphants or maybe a little more. And I need it." 

"What do you mean?" 

Gaby glanced again at the five silent occupants of the beds. "They've all been like this ever since. In a coma. I'm the only Ranger left to fight the morphants." 

"What about me? The version of me in this world?" 

"We tried releasing the voice lock, but the morpher won't work for him anymore. Only me. We think it must have bonded with my DNA, like the chronomorphers." She didn't look at him. "We tried working together for a while. The morphants attacked a couple more times, and then they disappeared. We tried to contact Time Force too, but got nothing. Maybe the morphants succeeded, and there's no more Time Force to help us. We thought they had left, and gone back where they came from. Obviously they didn't." 

"So - where is he? Is he here?" Wes asked after a moment. 

"Gone." She finally looked up at Eric's face, her expression both bitter and filled with hurt. "He couldn't take it. He ran out on me - on all of us, and left town." 

- - -

_He must have had a good reason. I wouldn't let Gaby down like that._ Eric paced across the small room restlessly, and stared at the door. Maybe he should find Gaby. Talk to her, find out what had really happened. 

"Eric, come on. We're ready." It was Wes's voice, from one of the two narrow beds. 

Steve and Gaby had arranged for a place for them to have some privacy; two of the private bedrooms in the Silver Guardians housing, in case they needed to spend the night. While hopefully they would be going home soon, they couldn't be sure. And - Eric found himself hoping they'd have to stay long enough to do something about the situation here. Gaby couldn't handle those three morphants by herself, no matter how much power she had. When she had left them she had looked so sad... and there were the alternate Wes and Jen, and the others, lying in that hospital room. And his duplicate in this world, wherever he was. They couldn't just leave things like this. 

He joined the others, pulling up a chair to face them as they perched on the side of the bed. Jen glanced up, and then back down at the small box-like device that served both as sensor and as communicator. 

"Okay. I've finally got a signal." She pressed a tiny button, and called, "Hello! Calling Time Force, Jen Scotts reporting. Is anyone there?" 

After a faint burst of static, an even fainter voice answered. Jen adjusted something and tried again. This time the voice came in clearly enough to be recognizable. _"... here. Where are you?_" 

"Trip?" Jen asked. She smiled as Wes grinned. "Trip, please repeat." 

"_Jen! We've been worried. We haven't been able to detect you until now. What happened? Where are you?_" 

"We were hoping you could tell us that. We transferred from the first dimension, but we didn't get home. This is another reality, a different one." 

"_Yeah..._" The sound faded, and then strengthened. _"... transfer didn't complete properly. According to our readings, the number of life signals is wrong. Didn't affect the transfer out of our dimension, but retrieval has to be more precisely calibrated. Did you try to take anyone with you when you tried it? Even an animal or something?_" 

Wes leaned in when Jen seemed to be hesitating. "What do you mean?" 

"_We detected a fourth life-force. It's strange though, almost like you've got another person with you, but the signal's very faint. Just barely enough to throw us off. It must have made you land in another parallel world instead of coming all the way home. You didn't try to take anything living with you? Anything at all?_" 

"No," Wes said as he traded a glance with Eric and Jen looked down at the box in her hands. 

"_Any idea what caused it? We kind of need to know, to fix the problem._" 

"No-" Wes started. 

"Yes," Jen said. As they both looked at her in surprise, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "I'm pregnant, Trip." 

"_Pregnant?_" The startled voice faded into a murmur of exclamations on the other side of the link. After a few seconds, it returned. "_That's great, Jen. Wish you had told us, but... Uh, congratulations. We have to work on recalibration. May take a little while._" 

"Understood. We'll contact you later." Jen pressed another button and closed the box, her eyes downcast. 

"Pregnant? Jen..." Wes's face went through a series of emotions, very much like Gaby's had when she woke up. Astonishment, shock, happiness, dismay, anxiety. "When did you find out?" he finally said. 

"Almost two weeks ago," she said, her voice flat and resigned. 

"Two _weeks_? Why didn't you tell me?" 

She didn't look up. "And then what? You would have tried to stop me from coming on this mission, wouldn't you? I would have done it anyway. What would have been the point in arguing about it?" 

"So you lied to me?" 

"I didn't tell you. That's not lying." 

"But if you'd said something, we wouldn't be stuck here now," Eric put in. 

"I'm sorry," she said with a trace of irritation, "but I had no way of knowing it would cause anything like this." 

"He's right," Wes said. "Look what's happened. This has turned out to be more dangerous than we thought. Damn right I wouldn't have let you come if I knew." 

Now she looked up, eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't _let_ me? I'm not a child, Wes. I don't need your permission." 

"That's not just your baby in there, it's mine too. I think I should have some say about what happens to it. And to you, for that matter!" 

"I know perfectly well it's your baby too. But I'm the one who's pregnant, and I get to decide what I'm going to do!" 

"Maybe if you were deciding for just yourself, but this is different. I can't believe you did this without even telling me!" 

"Now I'm glad I didn't! Just look at the way you're taking it!" Jen jumped to her feet. "You're not even happy, are you? You said you wanted kids!" 

"That has nothing to do with this! You spring it on me, in the middle of a situation like this, and I'm supposed to be overjoyed?" 

"I'm sorry my pregnancy doesn't have better timing for you!" 

"It's just that... Didn't you think about your own baby's safety? How could you be so irresponsible?" 

"_Irresponsible!_" Jen gave him a glare that could boil water, and marched to the door. "You're a fine one to be calling me names! I'm not the _irresponsible_ one around here!" 

"Jen! Where are you going?" 

"To the other room. Alone! Good _night_!" 

The sound of the door slamming echoed for a few seconds. Wes was on his feet too now. He swore, fists clenched. 

"Aren't you going after her?" Eric asked. 

"No! Let her think about it for a while. Dammit, how could she do this to me?" 

Eric snorted. "I don't think she did anything to _you_. More the other way around, or she wouldn't be pregnant in the first place." 

Wes turned on him, a finger pointing. "You keep out of this! What do you know about it, anyway?" 

"Oh, right. You're the expert on women and marriage here, rich boy. And you're doing so well at it, too." 

"And that's another thing, damn it! I hate it when you call me that!" 

"Call you what?" 

"_Rich boy_! You just never can stop rubbing it in, can you?" His voice became a mocking imitation of Eric's. "I pulled myself out of the gutter to get where I am! You're just a spoiled brat who happens to be the boss's son!" 

"You know damn well I never said anything like that! At least not lately!" 

"No, but that's what you're always thinking!" 

"Oh, now you read minds?" 

"Forget it! Just forget it!" Wes stomped to the door and yanked it open. "I'll find another room to sleep in!" 

"Fine!" 

"Good night!" 

Eric blinked as there was another slam. The door vibrated but managed to stay in one piece. "Ah, alone at last," he muttered into the sudden quiet. 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	4. Imbalance of Power part 2

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references.

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way.

Reviews are always appreciated.

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Imbalance of Power - part 2

- - -

"Wha..." Eric bolted out of sleep, heart pounding. Sirens, bringing back flashes of memory of his Army days. Where was he? Not home... The experiment... Other dimensions... They were in the Silver Guardians barracks, in another universe.

"Damn..." he mumbled, throwing the covers off and rolling out of bed. "What time is it...?" A glance at his watch answered that. Just after 5 am. Too damn early for this - and he had lain awake late last night, thinking, wondering, missing his own Gaby, wishing this was over and he was home.

A quick fumble to get dressed and he was out of the room, looking around, missing his headset, reminding himself that he wasn't in command of this set of Guardians. Still, whatever the problem was, he wanted to be there.

The door to the next room opened to reveal Jen, looking only slightly bleary. _Not bad for a pregnant woman,_ Eric caught himself thinking. A moment later another door down the hall swung open and Wes stumbled out, hair tousled and looking very bleary indeed.

Jen glanced at her husband and then deliberately turned her back on him. "Eric? What's going on?" she asked.

"Wish I knew. Come on, the Guardians will be going for their cars; we can find out there."

They found Steve Miller just inside the loading bays, directing Guardians into their SUVs. He turned when the three of them ran in. "Steve!" Eric called. "What's happening?"

"Another attack by those three morphants."

"In the city?"

"In the 'burbs."

"Where?"

Wes's voice came from behind him. "Jen, Eric and I can take care of this. You should stay here."

"Forget it, Wes, I'm going," she said.

"You have to think about the baby! What if-"

"I said forget it!"

Eric stopped listening as Steve looked into his face. "It's your house, Eric."

"_My_ house?"

"The other Eric. His and Gaby's."

"Oh, shit. She's there?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

- - -

Wes and Jen were still at it in the back seat of the SUV as Steve pulled onto the street where Eric's house was. A flash of light flared from ahead. Blaster fire. A battle, and Gaby caught in the middle of it. She had the morpher, but... And there could only be one reason why the morphants had chosen to attack here and now.

"Jen, will you at least stay back? Shoot at them from cover?"

"I'm perfectly capable of fighting."

"I know that! I just don't want you getting in danger."

"I'll do what I have to do, Wes. Leave it alone!"

Eric turned to confront them from the front seat. "Okay, you two, can it! We've got no time for this now. Wes, shut up. Jen, you're pregnant. Deal with it. Both of you, decide what you're going to do and do it, and don't get in my way."

He turned away from their startled and angry faces as the car came to a stop, taking a quick look around as he shoved the door open and jumped out. His house - the version of his house in this dimension - was across the street, looking the same as when he'd left yesterday morning... except for the three large mutants attacking it. Two of them were on each side of the front door, the third at a broken window. The door itself was a smashed mass of broken wood. A flash of blaster fire from inside told him where Gaby was. The police were out in force; three patrol cars parked haphazardly with uniformed cops behind them shooting at the morphants, who completely ignored them.

"Hold your fire!" Eric shouted. "Stay under cover!" He raised his arm, shouted, "Quantum Power!" and ran forward as soon as the transformation was complete.

Too bad the morphing process was so obvious; they had seen him. Eric had the Quantum Defender in his hand and was behind a tree a second later, instinctively checking on Steve - safely behind an SUV, helping a group of Guardians set up a blaster rifle - and Wes and Jen - morphed and running across the street to the shelter of a low brick wall between his house and his neighbor's. Speaking of the neighbors, thankfully none of them was in sight.

One of the morphants - Mr. Muscles, Mesocon - leaped down from the porch and ran at them. He had a blaster in one hand and that same larger weapon from the day before in the other. As Eric took aim and fired a series of bolts, he ducked behind Gaby's car and fired back. Wes and Jen were both shooting now too, along with the Silver Guardians, and the other two morphants were shooting back. Bright beams crisscrossed the yard and street, hitting trees and cars in explosive showers of sparks, while a bright flash from inside the house showed that Gaby was still in action.

This wasn't getting them anywhere. Couldn't get a good shot at them. Gaby was trapped inside. "I'm going in!" he heard Wes call, and saw him running closer to the house, exchanging his blaster for his twin chrono-sabers, while Jen covered him from behind the wall with a hail of blasts. Eric broke cover and dashed after him.

Wes jumped onto the porch and charged into Ectocon, slashing at the thin mutant's arm and forcing him to drop the blaster, but Endocon moved with surprising speed, running into Wes with his considerable bulk and knocking him off his feet. Another blast from Jen gave him time to get up and side-kick his attacker.

Eric had reached Mesocon, and took a running jump to hit him hard with both feet. To his dismay, the morphant only fell back a step and threw a punch; Eric ducked the blow and kicked his opponent in the belly, followed by a slash of the Quantum Defender in sword mode. Mesocon hardly seemed to feel it; he just swung again, fortunately not very fast. Still, sooner or later he'd land a blow, and Eric had a feeling he didn't want to be on the receiving end.

He heard a cry and risked a quick look at the porch, to see Wes fly into a post with a thud and tumble limply off the edge to the ground. Shouting her husband's name, Jen left the protection of the wall and ran to jump onto the porch and meet the mutants with her own saber, a couple of vicious swings holding them back. They recovered quickly and attacked, knocking her off her feet, but as they closed in the Rainbow Ranger emerged from the house, a few blaster bursts making them transfer their attention to her. Now in close quarters, Gaby transformed her own version of the Defender into its sword form and hacked at the mutants with more strength and energy than skill. Eric cursed, forcibly reminding himself that she was a Ranger now, and more powerful than he was.

But the distraction had done its damage. Eric saw movement but was unable to dodge this time as Mesocon grabbed his arm with crushing strength, yanked him into the air and slammed him down onto the back of Gaby's car to the sound of tearing metal. Dazed by the impact, he felt himself being swung by the arm and thrown, to crash into Wes. A moment later Jen joined them, flying from the porch onto her back on the ground.

That left Gaby alone. Eric heard her cry out in rage or pain and saw the two creatures above slam her against the wall as she struggled in their grip.

In the driveway, Mesocon was raising his blaster again and aiming it at the three on the porch, the larger weapon ready in his other hand. In another moment they'd weaken Gaby enough to force a demorph, and then... Eric rolled up onto his hands and knees. No way to get over there in time, and even a blaster shot wouldn't stop it... unless... A glimmer of light and movement caught his eye, liquid dripping from the back of Gaby's car where his own body had smashed it. As fast as the thought ran through his mind he brought up the Defender, on which he had somehow kept his grip, and fired - not at the mutant but at the car.

The results were all he could have hoped for. There was a flare of flame from the leaking gasoline, a second before it flashed into the car, and then the blinding light and deafening roar of an explosion. Mesocon was thrown into the air, howling as he spun head over heels and landed a few yards away.

"Meso!" Eric heard the others call, before they abandoned Gaby and ran to their companion. They pulled him to his feet, Ectocon stopping to retrieve the strange weapon. "This isn't over! We'll be back, stronger than before!" he shouted, lifting it over his head before they all disappeared in a sparkle of transporter light.

Slowly Eric rose to his feet. After the noise and chaos of battle, it seemed quiet despite the crackle of fire from the ruined car, the wail of a siren approaching, and the sound of his own panting breath. He looked around. The front of the house was scarred with blaster burns, some of the trees damaged, the front door demolished. Gaby's car was a twisted mass of flames. Wes was up, apparently unharmed, and helping Jen to her feet. With a quick leap Eric ran across the porch and found Gaby slumped against the wall.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, bending over her.

"I think so." She looked up and then out over the lawn. "Are they gone?"

"For now."

"But they'll be back." Her voice was flat.

"Come on, we should get back to base." He demorphed, waited for her to do the same, and took her arm.

They spent several minutes on making sure none of the Guardians and police were injured, and then a few more as a fire truck arrived and took care of the burning car. Eric rejoined Wes and Jen, watching silently as Gaby cast a last look at her home, her face blank and eyes dazed, and then let Steve guide her into the nearest SUV.

- - -

The silence lasted until they arrived back at Bio-Lab and left the vehicles. Eric saw Jen head for the main building, in the direction of their rooms, with Wes right behind her. With an inner sigh he followed as his partner reached out to touch his wife's shoulder.

She turned. "What?"

"The doctor is this way, Jen."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you got hit back there. You took a fall. You need to be checked out."

"I'm fine." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"What about the baby?"

For a moment Eric thought she would react in the obvious anger she felt, but she controlled herself and answered mildly enough. "The baby is fine. Stop treating me like I'm made of glass."

"Jen..." Wes took an irresolute step as she started away again. "Jen, please. Do it for me if you won't do it for yourself or the baby."

Eric crossed his arms, resisting the temptation to try yelling at both of them again as she hesitated. Finally she sighed, shot them an irritated glance and muttered, "All right. If it'll make you happy, fine."

Wes watched as she marched off, stiff-backed, this time in the direction of the infirmary. "Jen's got more sense than this. Why is she being this way?" he muttered.

"Beats me," Eric said. "She's _your_ wife, rich- I mean Wes."

"Doesn't mean I understand her."

Eric shook his head. "Does anyone really understand anyone? Even your best friend can surprise you." He left Wes blinking at him and headed for his room.

- - -

A hot shower could do wonders to ease the aches and pains left by battle, but Eric could still feel every bruise as he padded across his small room, wrapping a towel around his waist. A second bleep sounded from his morpher before he picked it up and answered. "Yeah."

"Eric, it's Jen."

As if any other woman would be calling on his morpher. Except maybe Gaby, he reminded himself uncomfortably. "What's up?" he asked.

"Trip contacted me." Her voice hesitated, and wavered a little. "They've compensated for my - you know. He said they can transfer us back any time."

Eric stared at the morpher, wondering why that news sent his heart plummeting when it should make him happy. The memory of Gaby's face from an hour ago, so forlorn, told him - the twin of another face, another Gaby, the one waiting for him back in their own world. Strange, how he seemed to have the same feelings for both of them. Or was it only natural? They were the same person, after all, even if he had known one for years and only met the other yesterday.

"Eric?"

He raised the morpher again. "Yeah. That's great."

"Right. Uh..." Her voice trailed off again. "I guess--"

"Look, just wait a while, okay? There's something I have to do first." He frowned in decision. Or rather - someone he had to talk to.

- - -

Eric stared at the door. He had no wish to see the five pitiful bodies laid out inside, still living - just barely. Not when there was nothing he could do about it, and not when they were almost the same people he called his friends. Even more, not when the Eric Myers who belonged here had apparently run out on them. Still, Steve had said she was inside. As he was telling himself that there was no point in delaying and reached for the door, it opened.

The face of a middle-aged man, looking older and more tired than he remembered, confronted him with a startled expression. "Eric!"

"Mr. Collins."

"Eric... But you're the other one, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. Although it depends on your point of view."

"True, true." Collins examined his face. "Amazing... and - and there's really another version of Wes and Jen with you?" he asked in a voice that quavered slightly.

"Yes, sir. Uh... if you want to see them..."

"No. No, I don't know if I could take seeing them healthy and - and walking around while..." Collins looked again at the door to the room where his own son and daughter-in-law lay in a coma. "Well, you know."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir." A smile broke through Collins' tired expression. "I'm always telling my Eric that. And you're not even my employee."

"I guess you're right. Is Gaby in there?"

"Yes." Collins hesitated before continuing softly, "You've already helped her, and all of us, twice. I know it's not much of a thank-you to ask you to do it again. I know the three of you are concerned about getting home, and that this isn't your fight or even your world, but... whatever you could do to help my son, and his wife, and their friends..."

Eric's heart sank another notch. "I understand," he said. "But I don't know if there's any way we can fix this."

"No." Collins gave another unhappy look to the door, his voice catching as he added, "Maybe nothing can. I'd better be going." Quickly, he turned and started down the hall, leaving Eric to watch his retreating back for a moment before opening the door.

She was sitting on a chair, between Wes's and Jen's beds, her back to him, head bowed. She must have known he was there, must have heard his voice, but she didn't turn around. Eric went nearer, and stood behind her. Inevitably, his gaze moved to Jen's face, and then Wes's. They both seemed asleep, quiet and almost motionless, yet there was a subtle tension around their eyes and mouths, as if they were having bad dreams.

"Thanks for saving me this morning." Gaby's voice was low and soft, but still startling against the silence.

"You seemed to be doing okay."

Her head turned to look up at him. "Don't lie!" she exclaimed, looking ashamed even before the echo of her voice had faded. "Sorry. I'm just - They would have beaten me. We both know it."

"Maybe." Eric watched as she turned her face away again. "Yesterday, when they attacked, were you already here at Bio-Lab?"

"Yes."

"And this morning they came to your house."

He saw her shoulders rise and fall in a sigh. "You're right; they're after me. Or the morpher, actually."

"So - you've figured that out."

"It's pretty obvious. When they used their special weapon before, they tried to drain the power from all the Rangers and take it for themselves. Instead the weapon misfired in some way, and they accidentally transferred it to the Quantum Morpher and bonded the morpher to me."

"And after that - I'll bet when they attacked again, they hit places like electronics stores."

"Right again." She smiled bitterly. "They stole parts and instruments."

"And the large weapon they have now - it must be the same as the one they used before, on them." He nodded at the five comatose Rangers in the beds.

"Yes. When the morphants disappeared for a few weeks, all of us thought they were gone, or hoped they were, but they must have been rebuilding their power-draining weapon. Making a new one, or fixing whatever went wrong."

He looked around, spotted another chair, pulled it over and sat close enough to see her profile. "They still want the power that's in your morpher. My guess is it won't work while you're morphed; that's why they didn't just use it right away. That's also why they tried to catch you alone this morning, so they could demorph you and use it. And they'll try it again. You need to stay here, where the Guardians can protect you."

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be protecting _them_. And everyone else."

The bitterness in her voice surprised him. He hesitated before going on. "You need someone to help you. Like you said, they would have beaten you this morning if we hadn't been there. Hell, they almost beat all of us together; we were just lucky."

"And exactly who's going to help?" Gaby turned to face him. To his dismay, her eyes were red and sparkling with tears. With an impatient movement she wiped them away. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only Ranger left. You guys don't belong here; you can't stick around. There isn't anyone else. No one to come riding in and rescue me, I have to do it myself."

Eric blinked at her obvious anger, an anger that he recognized as coming from fear. "You could get rid of the morpher," he said after a pause. "Then they'd leave you alone."

"They'd find it. They must have some way to detect it. There's no way we know of to destroy it; believe me, Dr. Zaskin has tried. And then, they'd take its power, and..." She shrugged, looking down at her wrist, absentmindedly running her fingers over the morpher's surface. "Well, I don't know what they'd do, but I'm sure it wouldn't do Silver Hills - or the world - any good. I think they've already done enough to prevent Time Force from existing. Destroyed the future. Now they're after the present. I know I don't have a chance to stop them, but... I can't just give up and let them take it."

"Never give up. You make a good Ranger." It felt like an empty platitude, but he meant it. Not that it helped much; Gaby gave him only a tight half-smile. Eric tried to find some way to reassure her and make it look like everything would be all right, and couldn't. Silence filled the room again. Finally, he asked the question that had been one of the reasons he had come to this room, the question that had been bothering him ever since he had heard Gaby's story the day before.

"Why isn't the other Eric here now? What made him leave?"

Her eyes turned to him. Her mouth curved slightly. "You're _him_, aren't you? Can't you guess?"

Maybe, but he didn't like where that thought led. "Tell me anyway."

Gaby sighed again, staring blankly in the direction of Wes's face now. "He couldn't be a Ranger anymore. He didn't like it that I had taken his power. Not on purpose, of course, but that's still what happened. Oh, he tried to be helpful and support me at first, but I could tell it bothered him every time I morphed, and every time I went into action with the Guardians. It bothered him a lot."

"Maybe he felt - useless. Like he couldn't help, and no one needed him. Like he wasn't important anymore."

"He was important to _me_." Her head bowed again. "After the morphants stopped coming, we realized he wasn't going to get the power back, ever. I guess it really sank in. He got more and more angry, at everything, at me; every time he saw this morpher on my arm or saw me use it or saw me working with the Guardians. He got impossible. I was all on edge too; it was partly my fault. We had a horrible fight. He said I was letting it go to my head, and I was taking his place with the Guardians, and I should just take his job too. That he didn't want a girlfriend who had taken everything away from him. We both said a lot of things, and I said he should just get out because he was only making everything worse and I was sick of him feeling sorry for himself. I didn't _mean_ it, not really..." She paused, eyes filling with tears again, "but that's what he did. He left. He didn't even say goodbye."

"I'm sorry," Eric said after a moment, not sure if he was apologizing for his double or for himself.

"You know, I used to think I'd love to be a Ranger. To be a superhero, and it would be all glamorous and exciting, and everyone would admire me." Another tear glinted on Gaby's cheek before it rolled down and dropped to land on her hand. "Now - I didn't ask for this, and I don't want it. Eric's gone because of it. And I'm scared. The morphants will keep coming after me, and sooner or later they'll win..."

"No." Eric stood up abruptly. Maybe his other self had let her down, but that didn't mean he had to do the same thing. There must be a way, and he was going to find it. "I'm staying as long as it takes to stop them, Gaby. That's a promise." He waited only long enough to smile as she looked up, and to touch her shoulder, before walking out.

- - -

  
TBC... 


	5. Imbalance of Power part 3

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Imbalance of Power - part 3

- - -

"There's no way she can do it alone. I can't just leave, not after the way the other me left her. You see that, don't you?" Eric stopped pacing for a moment to fix Wes and Jen with a hard stare as they sat on opposite ends of the bed. 

He had come back filled with determination and knocked on Wes's door, thinking he would find agreement or at least sympathy from him. No answer. Both of them had been in Jen's room, both looking oddly subdued, but he had no time to deal with their marital problems now. Instead he had told them to sit down and just started talking. 

"But, Eric-" 

"Let me finish. And it's not just Gaby," he went on. "The morphants seem to have changed history here. Made it so Time Force won't be created in the future. Who knows what's going to happen because of that? No, someone's got to help her defeat them, and put things back the way they're supposed to be." 

"If you just-" He silenced them with another glare. They glanced at each other and then back at him. 

"We showed up here in the middle of a crisis," Eric went on, "The Eric, Wes, and Jen of this reality are out of commission. We came just in time, when the morphants attacked again. Can't be coincidence. It's... it's like fate. Almost like we were brought here to help. And don't you even think about laughing at me." 

Wes stifled a snicker and tried unsuccessfully to look innocent. "Laugh? Me? Just because _someone_ kept making fun of me when I said the same thing last time? Never." 

"Hm." Eric scowled at him before looking at Jen. "Can our dimension's Time Force retrieve me later?" 

"Yes, if you keep the communicator, they could bring you home at any time," Jen said. 

"Then I'm staying until this is over," he announced. "The two of you can go." 

Another glance between them. Wes smiled. "Absolutely no way," he said. 

Eric frowned. "You don't get to tell me what to do, rich- I mean Wes." 

"Not trying to." Wes turned to Jen again. "Now, what were you were telling me about Trip before we were so rudely interrupted?" 

"Right. I transmitted the data I recorded from the first fight we had with the morphants to the Time Force in our dimension. Trip got back to me just a little while ago with the analysis results. He said there have been some illegal experiments along the same lines in our own dimension, both to develop morphed mutants and to build weaponry that can absorb and transfer our Ranger powers. The Time Force scientists were already working on the problem." 

She held up her combination sensor and communicator. "Our morphers can be linked to this, and enhanced to resist the morphants' weapon. It should stop them from taking our powers. At least that way we'll have a fighting chance. Trip's downloaded the software through the communications link, and it's ready to go." 

"You two... You already decided to stay, didn't you?" Eric demanded. 

"Well... I think Jen should go back," Wes said. 

"We've been through this, Wes. I'm not going to leave either of you behind." Jen's face was resolute. 

"Okay. I understand," he said. "I don't like it, but I understand." With a faint smile, he turned back to Eric. "We were worried about what you'd have to say, but I guess we should have known better." 

"And I guess I should have, too." Eric finally allowed himself to smile as he added, "Thanks, guys." 

"Don't mention it." Jen held out her hand. "Your morpher, please." 

- - -

It started just as they were finishing with Wes's morpher. Sirens. Eric came to his feet, fists clenched. The morphants weren't wasting any time, weren't going to let them finish preparing. He looked down at the bed, at Jen handing Wes his morpher, both their faces set and grim. 

"Damn," Jen said quietly. "There's no time to modify Gaby's morpher." 

"And her morpher's their main target," Eric muttered. 

He watched Wes glance at Jen. How far could he count on them? Wes would be preoccupied with protecting Jen, and she would still be trying to prove that she didn't need protection. Meanwhile he had to watch out for Gaby. If the morphants got the power in her morpher, not only the battle would be lost, but the war. 

Wes stood up. "We'll just have to stop them." Jen nodded as she got to her feet. They exchanged a quick smile. 

Wes and Jen were pros. They'd come through; he should never have doubted it. And Gaby, while an amateur, had more courage and strength than she gave herself credit for. They'd win this one. There was no choice; they had to. 

They morphed on the way, following the sounds of sirens and blaster fire as they ran through the corridors to the infirmary wing where Gaby had been when he left her, and apparently still was when the morphants attacked. And where the Wes, Jen, Trip, Katie, and Lucas of this dimension lay unconscious and helpless. One more factor to worry about. 

"This way!" Wes shouted, coming to a halt and pointing. A bright flash lit the corridor, coming from the main infirmary admissions area, a large space with a central desk and several smaller examination rooms opening off it. A corridor on the far side led to the Silver Guardians 'hospital' and the room where the comatose Rangers lay. 

"Watch out!" Jen's voice rang out a split-second before her blaster fired. Eric whirled to see a pair of cyclobots crash to the floor behind him in a shower of sparks. 

"Looks like they brought reinforcements," Wes said. 

"But not many, or the place would be swarming with them," Jen replied. 

There were two Guardians kneeling at the doorway, leaning around the frame to take a shot and then pull back to relative safety. More at the doorway on the other side. Still more inside, judging by shouts and exchanges of deadly beams. Too many. They'd get in the way - and they'd get hurt. 

"Steve!" Eric shouted as he spotted a familiar face. "Get your people out of there!" 

"Stay outside," Wes added. "Don't expose yourselves to fire. We need you to get rid of the cyclobots, and... in case we don't stop them." 

Fortunately, Steve seemed to accept them as his commanding officers or perhaps just as allies, and waved at his men. Eric and Wes stopped for a moment on either side of the door and exchanged a quick nod, years of working together eliminating the need for words. Then they were through, whipping past the doorframe and heading for the nearest cover, blasters blazing, laying down fire as Jen ran through the doorway after them. 

The room exploded in a bright criss-cross of rays and sparks, dazzlingly reflected from the metallic surfaces of trays, instruments, and glassware. In the confusion of light and movement Eric tried to assess the situation, quickly spotting two more deactivated cyclobots on the floor near the large curved reception desk - and three larger forms behind it, their heads visible between flashes of energy from their blasters. 

At least they seemed to be stopped for the moment. Or... no, one of them was holding off the combined Rangers and Guardians, while the other two were concentrating their attack on one of the exam rooms. Eric didn't need a closer look to know who their target was. Behind the remnant of a tattered, scorched privacy curtain, he glimpsed red and black, and heard the distinctive sound of the Quantum Defender as it returned fire. 

"Gaby!" he shouted. "You okay?" 

"For now!" she yelled back. 

"Stay behind cover! Don't let them get a shot at you!" 

"I could figure that one out on my own!" 

Under different circumstances he might have smiled. Yes, she'd be careful - but - there was no way to tell her that their morphers were now immune to the morphants' greatest weapon, while hers wasn't. Not without giving the enemy the same information. 

As if they sensed his thoughts, the morphants seemed to redouble their efforts, blasting away at the cot Gaby was sheltering behind. The acrid smell of smoke filled the air as the mattress abruptly burst into flames. With a cry, Gaby shoved it away, leaving herself exposed. One of the morphants - Ectocon - lifted his blaster and took aim. 

_Damn! She's too inexperienced to know a small fire like that won't hurt her through the suit._ Eric took aim and fired. Two more beams merged with his, all three of them hitting Ectocon, who dropped out of sight behind the desk. Gaby lunged behind a chair. Not much in the way of protection, but better than nothing. 

"Get out of here, Gaby!" Wes shouted. "Get somewhere safe!" 

"Exactly how am I supposed to do that?" 

She was right, there was no safe path out for her. Besides, Eric admitted reluctantly, they needed her, as he saw the other Quantum Defender fire again and force the morphants to duck. But they couldn't stay like this for long, either; their morphers would run out of power soon at this rate. They had to go on the offensive. He looked around. Wes and Jen were together, of course, behind the barrier of an equipment cart. Even as he tried to catch their attention the cart began to move, rolling towards the center desk at an increasing speed. 

Just before it hit with a crash, the two of them leaped from behind it. Wes tucked into a roll and landed pressed against the side of the desk. In a blur of pink Jen dived out of sight on the other side. After a glance in Eric's direction, Wes rose to a crouch and moved quickly around the desk to the opening in the back. Gaby must have seen either him or Jen and was firing steadily, keeping the morphants' attention, while Eric also opened fire. Then Wes was in position. 

Eric saw him use his Chrono-blaster and duck back after the bolt hit at short range in a cascade of sparks. Then he converted to saber mode and went in swinging. It was the only thing he could do in such close quarters - but the three morphants were too strong; Mesocon swung an arm and knocked him back a few yards to land sprawling on the floor. 

It all seemed to happen at once then. A blaster beam hit Wes, demorphing him in a bright sparkle. Jen vaulted up onto the surface of the desk, firing down at the enemy. As Eric cried a warning, Ectocon reached up and grabbed her, shaking her viciously and throwing her across the room where she banged into the wall near Wes and collapsed, demorphing on the way. Eric ran forward, shooting, trying to draw them off, and was forced back by three beams converging on him. He reeled, tried to find cover, but it was too late; his overloaded suit gave out and he found himself on the floor in his normal clothes, watching helplessly through a haze of dust and smoke. 

Gaby was already out of the examination room, the Quantum Defender in one hand and a Chrono-blaster in the other, both firing as the morphants turned back to concentrate on her, Endocon running at her from behind the desk as the others ducked back and then blasted her. She was hit, staggered back, converted both weapons to swords and leaped to meet the mutant. By sheer strength she drove him back, but only for a moment. He charged again, pushing her down. More bolts of energy hit. In another second it was over, her suit disappearing in the flash of a forced demorph, leaving her in a panting heap. 

"No!" Eric tried to shout it, but heard it come out not much louder than a hoarse groan as he struggled unsuccessfully to get up. A few feet from him Wes and Jen were no better off. Mesocon took a few steps into the middle of the floor, raised the energy-draining weapon almost casually, and fired. There was a bright wave of rainbow color, radiating from Gaby's morpher and flowing back into the weapon, the beams clearly defined in the smoky air. The morphants smiled. They had won. 

"What do we do with them?" Ectocon asked with a nod in Eric, Wes, and Jen's direction. 

"Take the energy of their morphers too. We'll have enough power to destroy this city once and for all. Then kill them." Mesocon turned and aimed. Eric found himself staring into a flare of color and light that made him blink - and then - there was a bright flash from their three morphers, but not like before. It seemed more like thin beams, returning along the path of the weapon's energy wave. They hit - and blinked out, but something was happening. The energy-drainer sparkled brightly for a moment before it burst into a brilliant explosion of colored energy, knocking the three morphants to the floor, and then disintegrated into a shower of sparks. 

"What happened?" Ectocon shouted. 

"I don't know!" Endocon cried. "The weapon... it's gone! We've lost the Rangers' power!" 

"Damn!" Mesocon turned on them. "They did this, somehow! Destroyed the energy-collector!" He looked right at Eric. "Tell me what you did to our device!" 

"Destroyed it, apparently," Eric said, letting a note of triumph enter his voice. 

"How? It's impossible!" 

"Obviously not impossible," Jen said. "You'll never get our powers!" 

"We'll find some way to beat you..." Wes added. "And that's a promise!" 

"Brave words. You're hardly in a position to promise anything of the kind." Mesocon eyed them coldly. 

"Nothing we can do now... just kill them and let's get out of here!" Ectocon said. 

"Her first, while they watch. Then them." Mesocon pulled out his regular blaster and deliberately faced Gaby, who stared up at him with a mixture of fear and defiance. 

"No! She can't do anything to you!" Eric cried. 

"We'll just make sure of that." Mesocon raised his blaster. 

"Leave her alone!" 

The shout had come from the doorway leading out into the corridor. Startled, Eric turned his head to see quick movement, a man running into the room, in civilian clothes but with a weapon in his hand. It was hard to see through the haze of smoke - for an instant he thought one of the Guardians or Bio-Lab employees had disobeyed orders and was interfering, but - he felt a wave of disorientation as the man stopped between Gaby and her attackers. A man with his own face. Himself, he realized, the Eric Myers of this universe. 

"Back off!" the other Eric snarled. 

"Do you think you can stop us?" 

"I can try!" Other-Eric fired, the beam hitting Mesocon without much effect. 

The morphant took a quick step, lifted an arm, and backhanded him, swatting him aside and sending him flying into the wall with an impact Eric could almost feel himself. Mesocon sneered contemptuously at the former Quantum Ranger, bent, and with a quick gesture yanked the morpher off Gaby's wrist as she cried out in pain. "Did you come for this? Useless. Just as you are useless without it, human," he said, tossing it at him. "Now, where was I?" 

"You were about to get your ass kicked!" 

Again another voice, this time coming from the doorway leading inside, to the 'hospital' rooms. And again, familiar, very familiar. Eric's eyes widened and he felt a surge of hope as he saw five people standing there, in battle poses. Five people in red, pink, blue, green, and yellow. Five Rangers. The five Time Force Rangers. 

"You! But... how?" Mesocon gasped. 

"Beats me," The red Ranger said in Wes's voice. "Don't know what happened or how we got here." 

"But we do know one thing." Jen's voice came from the pink Ranger. 

"Like the man said, we're going to kick your butts!" That came from inside the room, where the other Eric was back up, face pale and one arm held stiffly to his side, but the discarded Quantum morpher on his wrist. He raised it to his face and shouted, "Quantum Power!" and a moment later stood in Eric's red and black suit. 

"Eric! You okay?" Katie asked. 

"Never better." 

"Then let's go!" Trip said. 

"You got it!" Lucas agreed. 

They charged as a group, a well-honed team, Katie, Lucas and Wes attacking with chrono-sabers as Jen, Trip, and Eric used their blasters. Caught in the open, the mutants were all hit. Mesocon staggered under the sheer power of Katie's assault as she sliced at him, then battered him with a fist and a kick in the gut while Eric caught him from behind with the Quantum Defender. Endocon barreled at Lucas, who landed a solid blow before being knocked aside, but Trip had a clear shot at him. Ectocon tried to run, only to be caught by Wes who slashed at his legs, sending him sprawling while Jen blasted him unmercifully. One by one, they collapsed under the assault. 

"Quick, while they're down," other-Eric said, his voice showing some strain. Jen nodded to her former teammates, and Trip, Lucas, and Katie each took small containers from their belts, holding them over the morphants. With the touch of a button three pale beams shot down; the three criminals rapidly shrank, rose up, and were gone into cryogenic imprisonment. 

The other Eric was already helping Gaby to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

"I am now..." She reached to touch his helmeted head. "Eric... You came back?" 

"Power down." The bright shimmer of demorphing left him back in his regular clothes. He raised one hand to her cheek. "Do you think I would have left if I knew you were in danger? As soon as I heard the morphants were back, I started home." He paused, eyes searching her face. "Gaby - I'm sorry for the way I acted. You were right, I was stupid and selfish. Can you forgive me?" 

"I shouldn't." Gaby frowned at him, but her mouth began to tweak into a smile. "But it's hard not to forgive someone who just saved my life. Besides, you're so cute when you apologize..." She started to hug him, stepping back as he winced. "You're hurt!" 

"My arm. It's nothing." He smiled, wrapped the other arm around her and bent his head to kiss her. 

"Man, what happened to us?" the other Wes asked. "What are we doing here? Why did you have Eric's morpher? What's been going on around here?" 

Gaby looked up at him, a tired grin on her face. "It's a long story." 

On the other side of the room, Eric had gotten back to his feet. He glanced at the other two. Wes was helping Jen up, his face concerned. "Jen, are you all right?" he asked. 

"I'm fine." 

"And...?" 

"Fine, I think. And you don't have to say it, I'll see the doctor." 

The brief exchange had attracted the attention of the other Rangers. They all turned and stared silently until other-Eric growled, "Who the hell are _you_?" 

"Like Gaby said, it's a long story," Wes said. "Demorph and relax, and I'll tell you all about it." 

"Uh..." Trip shrugged. "We kinda don't want to demorph." 

"We woke up in a hospital room," Katie said. 

"Wearing hospital gowns," Lucas said. 

"You know... the kind with a draft in the back?" 

- - -

"I'm almost going to miss it here," Wes said quietly. 

"Yeah. This place was... interesting." Eric's eyes were on Gaby. She was standing a few yards away, her hand in her own Eric's hand, the two of them gazing into each others' eyes in a way he found both sickening and oddly touching. Did he ever look that dopey when he was with his own Gaby? And why would that be so bad? 

Next to him, Wes and Jen exchanged a subdued smile. There was still tension between them, that much was painfully obvious, but at least they had spent the last night in the same room. They would come out all right, they always did. 

"Almost time," Jen said. "Trip's set up the transfer for ten minutes from now. We should say goodbye." 

They joined the others: the Wes, Jen, Eric, Trip, Katie, and Lucas of this dimension, plus Gaby and Mr. Collins. All of them had turned up this morning to see them off. 

"Thanks," the other Wes said, holding his hand out. "From what Eric and Gaby told us, we would have been toast without you." 

"Lucky for us you three showed up when you did," the other Jen said. 

"Maybe not just luck," Wes commented with a sly glance at Eric. 

"Some people think all the different versions of reality are linked," Katie said. "Maybe it's true, and that's why you're here." 

"Whatever," other-Eric said. One of his arms was in a sling, but he stuck out his uninjured hand, eying Eric with a glint of suspicion as they shook. "I hope you didn't try to make time with my girl." 

"Eric!" Gaby exclaimed, swatting his shoulder. 

"Okay, okay. Thanks. Like Wes said, we owe you one. Or maybe a couple. Like for this." He held up his arm with the morpher securely strapped on his wrist for a moment before turning his eyes to Gaby's face. "Speaking of morphing - I should have said this a long time ago, instead of getting all bent because you had the morpher instead of me. You did a great job as a Ranger." 

"Thanks." She smiled. "But I've decided I'm not cut out for superheroing. From now on I'll be happy to stick to fighting evil as a boring old computer security geek, one virus at a time." 

"How did you know it would work for you again?" Eric asked, partly to distract them as they started making more googly eyes at each other. 

"As soon as I picked it up I could feel it, that little voice in my head. The morpher 'talking' to me, telling me to activate it." 

"So I guess it went back to normal at the same time the other morphers did." 

"Yeah!" Trip said eagerly. "Best I can figure out, when the morphants' energy-drainer tried to absorb the power of your morphers..." he nodded at Eric, Wes, and Jen, "the modification you used to protect them caused some kind of feedback. When the drainer weapon blew up, all the powers returned to where they belong." 

"Along with the life energy it had taken from us," Lucas said, "and we woke up." 

"That's pretty much what we thought," Jen murmured. "And just in time. If you hadn't showed up when you did, we would have been out of luck." 

"And we couldn't have taken them down so fast if you hadn't softened them up first." 

"Speak for yourself," other-Eric growled. 

"Everything turned out okay," Wes said as they all chuckled, except for the two Erics. "Still, I'll be glad to get home." 

"So will we," Katie said. "Not that it hasn't been great being here again, but with the timeline restored, thanks to you, and our Time Force back, we'll be going home soon too." 

After another round of handshakes, thanks, and good wishes they moved away to a safe distance across the same Bio-Lab yard where they had transferred the last time, and waited. "What's the holdup?" Eric muttered after a few moments. 

"What's the matter? Wes asked. "Don't you like it here?" 

"Some of it." His eyes returned to Gaby and his own double, who returned his stare with a look that was not quite friendly. 

"Don't tell me you don't like this one either," Jen said, following his gaze. 

Eric shrugged uncomfortably. "Well... he left Gaby. Ran out on her, and everyone here." 

"He made a mistake. And he came back, didn't he?" 

"Yeah. That's some mistake. He doesn't deserve her." 

"I don't think so. Besides, he's _you_, Eric. He's you." Jen's eyes were sharp and curious as they met his before moving away, leaving him annoyed and frustrated. _I'm not like that! I'm not._ Still... a memory wormed its way through his mind, of himself leaving Silver Hills when Mr. Collins was injured, and the city was under attack, just because he thought Wes would push him out of command of the Guardians. No, it wasn't the same; he had started to go, had packed and gotten in the car and been on his way... He had almost gone, but he hadn't done it. Almost didn't count. Did it? 

"Look," Wes said, nudging him. 

The dimension-hole, as he had started to think of it, was forming in the air over their heads, sparkling in a thousand slivers of color as the funnel grew, spun, and reached down for them. This time Eric managed not to flinch as the universe around them disappeared, and then came back different. He caught his balance as a wave of vertigo twisted his stomach. 

"Whoa. That didn't feel right," Wes said. 

Jen was already pulling out her scanning device. "Hope it doesn't mean something's wrong," she muttered, frowning over the tiny display. 

"Uh... guys..." 

Wes's low warning brought them around as a man stepped out of the Bio-Lab building doorway and into the light. 

"Steve!" Eric exclaimed. 

"Boy, are we glad to see you!" Wes said. 

Steve gave them a confused look. "Why, what happened?" he asked. "And how'd you get out here so fast? We just got the report of a strange light a minute ago. Did you see something?" 

"No, we--" Wes trailed off, his eyes going wide. Eric was only vaguely aware of Jen's dismayed gasp as his own heart lurched. 

"Who the hell are _you_?" another Eric Myers snarled as he moved into view, a blaster already in his hand. 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	6. Mirrorverse part 1

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Mirrorverse - Part 1

- - -

"Jen, what happened? Why didn't we get home?" Wes asked, his voice lowered. 

"I don't know. We'll have to contact Trip again." 

"They screwed up again is what happened," Eric growled. 

"I _said_, who are you?" Eric's twin in this dimension took a step forward, his face hard and suspicious. "Wes, what are you up to? Who is this guy and why does he look like me?" 

"Um... That's a long story. And I'm not exactly who you think." Wes made a face at Jen. "Man, I'm getting tired of explaining all this." 

"I'll do it," Jen said. She faced the other two men and said briskly, "We're from another reality, a parallel universe. We were brought here by mistake, in an experiment in dimensional travel. We're - sort of your doubles; we're you but from another timeline." 

"Another reality? What the hell are you talking about?" The other Eric raised his blaster. "If this is some kind of trick, Wes..." 

"It's not a trick," Wes said. "We're not the Wes and Jen you know. Look, why don't you call them? Then you'll see we're telling the truth." 

"Boss, I checked in with Wes a few minutes ago, and he was home," Steve said quietly. "So was Jen. I don't think they could have gotten here so fast." 

"Some kind of look-alikes, maybe? But why?" Dark Asian eyes examined all three of them carefully. "Who sent you? Who hired you?" 

"No one." Wes sighed. "We told you, we're from a parallel reality. We're only here because of an experiment by Time Force that went wrong. You have a morpher; you've probably traveled through time. This shouldn't be so unbelievable." 

"Time Force sent you?" It was soft and struck Eric as almost - menacing, as his counterpart's eyes narrowed. 

"Not sent exactly, like Jen said it was an accident. And not the Time Force here, the one in our own dimension." 

"Come on, just use your eyes," Eric cut in. "I'm _you_. I look like you; I sound like you. I even have the same morpher as you. How do you think I got it if I'm just a look-alike?" 

"Could be fake." 

Eric smiled ironically. "But it isn't." 

With a thin and dangerous smile, the other Eric said, "Prove it." 

_Do I really look that - mean?_ Eric wondered, even as he lifted his arm and said, "Quantum Power!" As the light of morphing faded and he stood in his Ranger suit, he saw his double staring with a look of shock on his face, quickly replaced by comprehension, and then - a disturbingly calculating expression that came and went so fast Eric couldn't be sure he had seen it. 

"Want more?" he asked. 

"No. I've seen enough. You're not here for any reason? Just an accident?" 

"That's right. An experiment that went wrong," Jen said. 

"A Time Force experiment... What was the purpose?" 

Jen shrugged. "Just exploration. Getting an idea of what we could expect to find in other dimensions." 

"And your Time Force sent _you_ on this - exploration?" 

"Yes. We're all technically Time Force officers, even though we live in 2005." 

"I see..." Eric's double hesitated only for another instant before holstering his weapon and advancing, hand held out, a suddenly warm and cheerful smile wiping away the suspicion and hostility as if they had never existed. "Sorry about that, but it's my job to be careful, and you have to admit it was pretty startling to see myself staring back at me like that. But - I guess what I should be saying is: welcome to our dimension! Not a very good start, was it?" His tone became apologetic, his expression slightly anxious as he shook hands with Wes. "Man, you guys must think I'm a real jerk! I hope you don't think that's how I act all the time. Just give me a chance to make up for it." 

"Thanks. No, we can't blame you for not believing us," Wes said, sounding a little startled himself. 

The other Eric glanced at Steve, who was still holding a blaster. "You can put that away," he said. "These are our guests, and we want to make sure they're comfortable." He waved an arm at the door. "Come on in. I can't wait to hear all about your dimension, and get to know all of you better. Are you hungry? Want something to drink? Anything we can do for you, any way we can help?" 

"Well, thanks," Jen said. She looked slightly dazed. "But all we need is someplace where we can contact our own Time Force and find out what went wrong, and figure out how long it'll take them to get us home." 

"Of course, of course." Other-Eric held the door open for her. "Maybe it's selfish, but I hope we'll have some time for a nice long talk. You must have some exciting stories to tell, and I'd love to hear them. And I can't wait to see Wes's and Jen's faces when they see you!" 

"Man. I guess the other versions of us aren't always exactly the same," Wes murmured. 

"Yeah," Eric muttered, privately deciding that he liked this one even less than the first two as he demorphed and followed the others. The guy might be smiling and laughing and talking a mile a minute like a used car salesman now - but Eric couldn't forget the cold menace in his double's eyes as he held a blaster on them only minutes before. 

- - -

"Trip?" Jen said again. She frowned, and adjusted a tiny control on the sensor-communicator which was lying on the table in the small meeting room they were using. The three of them were alone; the Eric of this dimension had let them in and left, saying he was going to contact his own Wes and Jen. Now, the faint, static-filled voice they had heard deepened, grew louder, and finally became understandable. 

_"... Jen? Are you there?"_

"Yes, Trip, we're all here." 

_"Great! We were worried. Are you okay?"_

"We're fine. Trip, what happened? Why aren't we back in our own timeline?" 

_"Not sure yet. We're working on it. Last time the transfer energy wasn't enough, because of - you know. This time, according to the instruments, it was too strong."_

"What could have caused it?"

"That last dimension you were in - it was very close to ours, wasn't it?" 

"Well, there were some pretty noticeable differences-" 

_"I mean, it sounded like everything there was about the same until pretty recently. No basic changes like everyone being the opposite gender or whatever. Maybe it only diverged from our reality a few months ago."_

Wes leaned nearer to the device. "Maybe. What's the point?" 

_"Our theory is that the dimensional transporter had trouble locking onto that reality since it's so close to ours. The transfer seems to have - overshot, I guess. Pushed you into still another reality."_

"Okay." Eric sighed. "What are you going to do about it?" 

_"Fine-tune the detection algorithms to filter out overlapping spatial-temporal patterns and differentiate the causal chains-"_

"Never mind," Wes said. "Just get us home." 

_"That's what I said."_

"How long will it take?" Eric asked. 

_"Don't know yet... We need to figure out how similar the dimension where you are now is to our own. Anything you can find out about what's different there might help."_

"They seem pretty much alike so far," Jen said. "We'll have to get back to you when we have more information." 

_"Okay."_ There was a hesitation. _"Sorry guys. Next time we'll get you back."_

"Yeah, right," Eric said just before Jen closed the connection. "Just try not to screw it up again." 

"Eric, it was an accident. No one's fault. Leave it alone," Jen said sharply. 

"Yeah, nothing is anyone's _fault_, but we're still stranded here." 

"Lighten up," Wes said. "They'll get us back soon. Meanwhile, this seems like a pretty nice place so far. No big crisis, no fight we landed in the middle of for once, and Eric seems to want to help us out. The Eric here, I mean." 

"This is going to be confusing," Jen said, "with two of each of us." 

"You can call mine Myers," Eric growled. 

"So formal." Wes smiled. "How about Eric's nice twin?" 

"Eric-two. Wes-two and Jen-two, when we meet them," Jen said with a stern look at her husband. 

"Whatever," Eric muttered. "And I hope you're not going to tell me _he's_ exactly like me." 

"No, we won't say that." Wes chuckled. "But he seems like a great guy." 

"I don't trust him." 

"You wouldn't," Jen said. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"I mean you don't seem to like being around yourself in any dimension." She met his glare without flinching. 

Eric opened his mouth for an angry retort, and closed it again. Something was wrong here; he could feel it, and getting into a fight with Jen would only decrease the chances that she and Wes would take his opinion seriously. And... could he really be sure he was right? Had he disliked Erica and the last Eric for being too much like himself? And this one - so what if he was friendly, if he smiled so easily and talked so much? Was that the problem, that he was too different? 

Before he could organize his thoughts enough for a response, a knock on the door interrupted. Probably for the best, he thought, as Wes called, "Come on in!" No point in arguing among themselves, at least not until they got safely home. He looked up to see the smiling face of his double, and again felt that little shiver of - wrongness. 

"Hello again. Got everything taken care of?" the other Eric - Eric-two - asked as he stepped into the room. 

"For now," Jen said. "Looks like we won't be leaving right away, though." 

Another voice came from the doorway. "Every cloud has its silver lining. Gives us a chance to get to know each other." Looking past Eric-two, they saw Wes - a duplicate Wes - standing there, leaning casually against the frame. He grinned at them. Involuntarily, Eric glanced at the Wes he had come with and back again. Identical, except for something subtle and unidentifiable in his expression. 

"So?" Eric-two said. "What do you think?" 

"They're everything you said they were." Wes-two came into the room and took a seat, staring at his counterpart. "Amazing. Just amazing. We could be identical twins." 

"I guess the relationship is even closer than that. In a way, we're the same person." 

"An interesting thought." He seemed to find it almost amusing. "So... Eric tells me you're here by accident. How long can we expect the pleasure of your company?" 

"Until our Time Force solves whatever problem brought us here." Jen shrugged. "We don't know yet how long that will be." 

"If you don't mind, we'd like to hear more about this dimension," Wes said. "Obviously you're commander of the Silver Guardians, Eric. Are you two partners? What about Jen, is she here permanently? And the others: Trip, Lucas and Katie? What happened to Ransik and Nadira?" 

"That's a lot of questions," Eric-two said with a smile. "And we'll be happy to answer as much as we can." He traded a quick glance with his own Wes. 

"Okay," Wes-two said. "To start with, Eric and I run Bio-Lab together, so we're partners in that sense. He's in charge of the Guardians, and I'm in charge of the company." 

"The company? What about Dad? I mean your father. Isn't he still running Bio-Lab?" 

There was another unreadable glance between the two of them. "No. Dad died years ago." 

"Died? How?" 

"Murdered," the other Eric said. His brow lifted slightly as he added, "By Ransik." 

"You mean... when Ransik attacked at Bio-Lab and injured him?" 

"During one of Ransik's attacks, yes." 

Wes looked down at his hands, clasped on the table. "Wow. Dad... Man, I'm sorry." 

"Thanks. Like I said, it happened years ago." 

"I guess in this dimension Alex never saved him." 

"Alex?" Wes's counterpart stared at him. "Alex is dead. Has been since before all this started." 

"Ransik again, I guess." 

Eric-two was watching them intently now. "In your world, Mr. Collins and Alex never died?" he asked. 

"Yeah. Ransik almost killed both of them, but they recovered." Wes hesitated. "I guess here Ransik had a lot more to answer for when he was taken back to the year 3000. Did he reform, like ours did?" 

"Reform?" Eric-two looked blank. 

His partner cut in smoothly. "Your Ransik went back to his own time?" 

"Yes, we captured him almost four years ago, and Jen and the others took him back to stand trial again." 

"Stand trial. I see." Wes's counterpart smiled again, with an ironic twist. "In this world, Ransik was never captured, by us or anyone else. He's still here. Still attacking us. Along with Nadira and Frax, and their allies." 

"Still here?" Wes glanced at Eric and Jen. "After all this time?" 

"They're pretty tough." 

"They were in our world, too. I guess we were lucky." 

"Maybe you can give us some mutant-fighting tips. Frankly, we could use the help." 

"Whatever we can do while we're here," Wes offered. 

"Thanks. We may take you up on that." 

As he fell silent, Jen took over. "We have more questions, if you don't mind. We need to try to find out exactly how different your reality is from ours. Our Time Force thinks that would help them get us home." 

"So you need to know as much as you can. We'd be happy to oblige." Eric's double leaned closer to Jen, smiling again as he added in a playful tone, "As long as you promise not to leave without saying goodbye!" 

"Uh... of course not. Do you think we could take a look around Bio-Lab?" 

"Not a good idea." Eric-two was still smiling, but his tone did not encourage argument. "It might be too confusing for the people here to see you and us together. It would mean a lot of explanations." 

"And no point in letting Ransik find out about you," Wes-two added. 

"I suppose," Jen said. "How about your versions of Lucas, Katie, and Trip? Can we talk to them?" 

"They're all on assignment right now," Wes's double said, with a glance at his partner that Eric couldn't quite interpret. 

"Assignment? You mean they're still doing odd jobs?" 

That got another blank look from both of them. "They all work for Bio-Lab, with the Guardians," Wes-two said after a moment. "That's what they've been doing since they got here." 

"And the clock tower? Is that where they're living?" 

"Not for a few years now. I gave them a townhouse near my home, but Jen is living with me." 

"Are you married?" 

Wes-two raised a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile. "No. Not much time for personal relationships with Ransik still around." 

"More differences," Wes said. 

"Speaking of my home, you can stay there while you're here." 

"They might find it more convenient to stay here, with the Guardians," Eric-two said. 

"The house is much more comfortable, and we can keep them out of sight of everyone who shouldn't know about them. Station a couple of Guardians there if you're worried about - Ransik." They stared at each other for just a moment longer than the exchange appeared to warrant, as something very subtle but out of place in the friendly atmosphere seemed to flash between them just under the surface. 

And then it was gone, as the other Eric grinned and slapped his Wes on the shoulder. "I guess I'm just being paranoid," he said. "You're right, the house it is. Gaby and I will drop by tonight to see how you're doing." 

"Come for dinner. We'll make a party out of it." Wes-two got to his feet. "I'll make sure Steve has cleared the corridors so you can leave without being seen, and arrange for a car." 

- - -

"Still think this is such a nice, quiet little dimension?" Eric asked very softly, for only Wes to hear, as they followed the other Wes and Eric. Their doubles were a couple of yards ahead of them in a Bio-Lab hallway with Jen walking between them, both talking to her cheerfully. 

"Well... it does look like they need our help." 

"What _we_ need is to get out of here as soon as possible." 

"But maybe we were meant to be here, too. To make sure they capture their Ransik." Wes grinned at him. "And don't try to tell me what a stupid idea it is, not after you said it yourself in the last dimension." 

"That was different." 

"Sure it was." Wes was still smirking annoyingly. 

"Shit." Eric walked a few more steps before continuing in an angry mutter. "A quick, simple, perfectly safe little dimensional experiment. That's what Jen said." 

"Come on, it's not that bad." 

"Oh sure. So far it's only been three days and we've only been in four fights and almost gotten killed twice. If we're lucky, maybe we'll make it out of this one without Ransik kicking our butts a few times. But I doubt it. And - I'm telling you, there's something wrong here. Something's strange about those two." He nodded at their counterparts. 

"Because they're being nice? Eric... You're such a cynic." To his surprise, Wes draped an arm across his shoulders. "But what would we do without you?" 

"I hate to think, rich- I mean Wes." 

"So do I." 

It was strange, but the brief conversation left Eric feeling slightly less gloomy as they caught up with their counterparts and Jen. He even managed to smile as they all piled into a Guardian SUV and took off in the direction of Wes's house. Maybe Wes and Jen were right; he was just being paranoid and pessimistic. But - he still had to suppress a shiver as his eyes met his double's. 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	7. Mirrorverse part 2

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Mirrorverse - Part 2

- - -

"Jesus. Suits. Doesn't he have anything else to wear?" 

"Be grateful. He didn't have to give us anything. Personally I'm happy to get into some clean clothes," Wes said. 

"Yeah, I guess." Eric raised a hand to his neck and pulled uncomfortably at his collar. "Man, I forgot how much I hate wearing a tie." 

"And you've forgotten how to tie one." Jen came up to him, her fingers expertly taking the knot apart and reassembling it. "Wes is the same way. Can't stand to get dressed up. I'm surprised he didn't wear his old red shirt and tan slacks to our wedding." 

"Hey! I resemble that remark." 

"And he can't do a tie right to save his life. I've had to learn." 

Wes grinned behind her. "It's just so much more fun to have you do it." 

Jen snorted faintly, but the corners of her mouth tugged up. "All done," she announced, and stepped back, casting a critical eye over her husband and Eric. "And very handsome, both of you." 

"Thanks, sweetheart," Wes said, dropping a quick kiss on her cheek. "You look wonderful yourself." 

"Yeah, you look okay." Eric saw them both smile. Jen did look good, in one of those 'little black dress' things, her arms and shoulders bare, almost as tall as Wes and himself in unaccustomed high heels. All borrowed from the Jen of this dimension, of course, whom they had not yet met. Wes-two had provided the dress, and lent them two of his own suits. It had come in handy that he and Eric were almost exactly the same size and build. 

"I guess we should get down there," Wes said. 

"Yeah, if you two are done messing with your clothes and telling bad jokes, let's get this over with." 

Wes gave him a half-amused look but said nothing. He crooked his elbow and held it out to Jen. "Madame, may I have the pleasure?" 

"Certainly, sir." 

They headed for the door of the large bedroom, one of the two rooms they had been given for their stay. Wes opened it and then hesitated, his face suddenly somber. "Going to be strange, walking into that dining room and not seeing Dad." 

"Yes, it will," Jen said. She smiled gently at her husband and hugged his arm closer. 

"That's something we can all be glad is different in our own world," Eric said as they headed out again. 

- - -

It was still a startling sight, and Wes and Jen thought so too, Eric decided as they stood in the living room doorway. Jen and Gaby - the alternate versions - were sitting at the bar, heads together, laughing about something. The other Wes and Eric were standing just beyond them, apparently deep in conversation, their expressions serious - concentrated - a hint of irritation in his own double's face - but it was gone as soon as they looked up. 

"Well, hello! All of you look great, if I say so myself," Eric-two said with his customary grin. "Meet another couple of familiar faces." He extended an arm around Gaby's shoulders. "Jen, meet Jen. Everyone, meet Gaby. I'm sure you feel like you already know each other." 

"Yeah, we sure do," Wes said, shaking hands with his wife's counterpart. 

Eric followed his and Jen's example, taking first Jen-two's soft and surprisingly limp hand and then moving on to Gaby. He tried not to show a reaction as she leaned forward slightly, giving him an excellent view down the very low neckline of her dress, and trailed her fingertips over his palm as they let go. His face must have shown something; she gave him an amused smile that also seemed disturbingly seductive. 

"Lady and gentlemen, if you'd care to arm yourselves with something from the bar?" Wes-two said heartily, gesturing. "No? Okay, shall we go in to dinner?" 

The living room had looked almost the same as in their own world, except for new carpeting and a few additional paintings and sculptures. The dining room was another matter. Eric didn't remember the crystal chandelier above their heads. Or the line of servants standing at attention against the wall, Philips among them, standing straight-backed, stiff-faced, eyes front. Or the fancy silverware laid out on the table. Goldware would be a better word, he decided, eyeing a fork that looked like it cost as much as his car. 

"I see you've - uh - done some decorating," Wes said. 

"Like it? I figure what's the point of money if you don't spend it? Right?" 

"I guess so." Eric knew Wes well enough to hear the dubious tone. 

"Well, come on. Sit down." 

They sat, boy-girl-boy-girl, with Eric the odd man out. The two Weses and Jens faced each other across the table, and Eric, to his discomfort, found himself across from his double, who was next to his own Gaby. The servants moved in to serve the first course, which was a deep orange soup. 

"Aren't you worried about them seeing us with you?" Eric asked, as soon as the room was clear of other people for a moment. 

"They know better than to step out of line," Wes-two said. His eyes darted up to theirs as all three stared at him, startled. "I mean, they're very loyal. I have the utmost faith in their discretion." 

"I'm sure you do," Wes said. 

Silence fell, as they all bent over their soup. Some kind of fancy stuff, Eric decided after trying unsuccessfully to identify what was in it. Just the sort of thing someone would serve to show how sophisticated they are. Not at all his own Wes's style. If they were home, in the Collins house without Mr. Collins, they'd be sitting there with a pile of pizza boxes or fast food burgers, and he wouldn't be trying to keep his tie out of the damn soup and wondering if he was using the right spoon. 

"So..." Wes looked across the table at their counterparts and smiled in an obvious attempt to make conversation. "Jen - do you work with the Silver Hills police, like Jen does in our dimension?" 

"The police?" Jen-two looked blank. "No. Why should I work? I've got this beautiful house to live in, lots of nice clothes, and Wes to take care of me." 

"Besides, Jen has Ransik to worry about," Wes-two said quickly. 

"Right... I guess you can't wait to get him after all this time, especially because of what he did to Alex." 

"Alex?" To Eric's surprise, she made a face. "Alex was a bastard." 

"Now, Jen, honey..." Wes-two took her hand. 

"Well, he was," she said peevishly. "He beat me, and he deserved-" 

"I'm sure our guests aren't interested. Especially not when we're trying to enjoy a nice dinner." The voice was soothing, but there was a sharp edge under it. Jen-two pouted but was silent. "Speaking of our guests - have you been in touch with your own Time Force again?" 

"Not yet. We'll probably try again later tonight," Jen said, still eyeing her double. 

"You have something that can communicate with them? And it's small enough to carry with you?" 

"Yes, it's not nearly as big as the chrono-communicators. A side benefit of the dimensional technology." 

"I'm curious - what happens when they're ready to bring you back? What's the transfer like? How does it work?" 

"It's kind of like a timehole," Wes answered. "Jen tells them when we're ready, and they use the communicator to home in on us. Then the dimension-hole appears and drops over us." 

"I see. Very interesting." Wes-two smiled, his eyes moving for a moment to meet Eric-two's. 

"May I ask - when can we meet with Lucas, Trip, and Katie?" Jen asked. "They can't be on assignment all the time." 

"Soon," Eric-two said. "Very soon. They're busy until late tonight, but you should be able to see them tomorrow." 

"Good." 

"They'll be expecting you." 

Was there something strange about the way he had said that? The words were perfectly ordinary. So was his expression, and his tone of voice. Eric took another look at his own double, seeing him smile blandly back. Why did the guy make his skin crawl? Was it only because he was friendly and charming and everyone seemed to like him? Because he was everything Eric sometimes wished _he_ was...? He had to admit Jen was right, he didn't like being around himself in these other dimensions, no matter what they were like. 

Still, there was what Jen-two had said... And now Gaby had picked up a bread stick and was playing with it, delicately nibbling at the tip when she saw him watching, staring at him from under lowered eyelids. She slowly ran her tongue over her upper lip and smiled faintly. Eric shivered. 

- - -

"I just..." Eric hesitated, unsure of what he wanted to say as he stood in the larger guest bedroom they had been given, looking down at Wes and Jen who were seated on the bed. "Look, something's wrong here. I can't explain it, maybe it's just a feeling, but something's wrong. We need to be careful." 

"We always are." Jen regarded him thoughtfully. "You can't say the other Wes and Eric haven't been nice." 

"Sure they've been nice to us. But still - something's off about them. Did you hear what Wes-two said about the servants?" 

"Yeah," Wes said. "I have to agree with you. I get a weird feeling from them too. Thought it was just being around - myself - but I'm starting to think there's more to it." 

"I agree too." Jen sighed. "The other Jen - it was okay when she said her Wes 'takes care' of her. I mean, that's not me, but things are different here. But - Alex beat her? He deserved what he got? That's just bizarre." 

"Yeah. Seems like almost everyone here is a lot different from us." 

"The other Eric and Jen sure are," Eric said thoughtfully. "And the other Gaby. Kind of makes me wonder how much the other Wes is different from you, besides his taste in servants and decorations." 

Wes took Jen's hand. "Let's hope we don't stay here long enough to find out." 

"Seems like a good time to call Time Force." She took out the communicator and lifted the tiny lid. 

This time it took only a minute to establish a firm link, and Trip's voice spoke to them, faintly but clearly. _"Jen, Wes, Eric. Are you okay? Is anything wrong?"_

"We're fine, Trip," she said. "Just wondering if you're making progress on getting us out of here." 

_"We're getting there. Probably tomorrow morning. We're rushing it as fast as we can."_

"We're okay," Wes said, leaning in. "No need to rush. Better to take your time and make sure we get home this time." 

_"That's what we're doing. We're reworking the transfer calculations to automatically compensate for the number of people and the 'distance' between dimensions, so this kind of thing won't happen again."_ Trip's voice hesitated. _"Guys... the readings indicate that you're in a dimension that's really different from ours. I mean **really** different, on a very basic level."_

"Strange. All we've seen are some differences in personalities, and Ransik still being around." 

_"Yeah, well, it's more than that. Not sure what exactly, but I have a bad feeling. I think you're in danger. So we're hurrying."_

They all exchanged glances. While Eric had reservations about Trip's so-called psychic abilities, he knew Wes and Jen believed in them. "Okay, Trip, we understand," Jen said after a moment. "Thanks. We'll be in touch." Her eyes stayed on the communicator after the connection was broken and the lid closed. Her fingers curled, grasping it tightly, her head bowed. 

"Jen, what's wrong?" Wes asked. 

"In danger. I think he's right. And it's all my fault." Her voice was very low. 

"Your fault? What are you talking about?" He rested a hand on her shoulder. 

"If I had told them I was pregnant, we'd be home already. None of this would have happened." 

"There was no way you could have known that." Wes moved a little closer and wrapped his arm around her. 

"I should have known my pregnancy might throw off the transfer. I have scientific training; I should have guessed." 

"No, you shouldn't. This isn't your fault." 

"It's because I didn't want it to change anything. Because I didn't want you treating me any differently, and I don't want to have to slow down, or stop working, or do anything different. It was just selfish. We planned for children; I thought I was ready, but - maybe I just don't want to be pregnant." 

"Jen..." Wes hesitated, his face a picture of helpless concern. "No, that's not true. It's just - an adjustment. Anyone would feel the same way." 

"You were right before, you know. I was irresponsible." 

"Now that's _definitely_ not true. You're the most responsible person I know." 

"You really think so?" Her voice was small and vulnerable. 

"Yes, I really think so." 

"I do want this baby. Your baby." 

"And so do I." Wes sighed. "Still can't believe it. We're going to be parents. A mother and a father. Real, grown-up parents. I just hope I do okay." 

"You'll be a great father, Wes..." She raised her face to his, eyes shining. He caressed her cheek before kissing her. 

Eric had already gotten up and was on the way out. They didn't need him for the next scene in the continuing drama of their marriage; in fact they had obviously forgotten he was there. Very quietly, he opened the door and slipped out into the hallway and then to his own bedroom. 

- - -

For the second time in two days, Eric was yanked roughly out of sleep. He twitched violently half awake, aware of something hammering at him, a loud, threatening noise... Then light, as he opened his eyes. The ceiling light. He blinked up at it groggily, realizing he had fallen asleep with the light on and still fully dressed except for jacket and shoes. The hammering turned into a knocking on his door, rapid and urgent. A voice shouted from the other side. 

"Eric! Eric, open the door!" It was Wes's voice. Whether it was his Wes or the other one was impossible to tell. 

"What?" he yelled. 

"It's Ransik! He's attacking again! We need your help!" 

The other Wes, then, probably. Eric swung his feet to the floor. The last few days had taken their toll; he was tired, but the rush of adrenaline at the call to action was clearing his head rapidly. "Okay, okay. Be right there." He opened the door to Wes's face. Two of Wes's face to be precise, with two Jens behind them. Eric blinked, startled, feeling as if he was seeing double. 

"Ransik, Frax, and Nadira are attacking Bio-Lab. Lucas, Katie, and Trip are fighting them there," the closest Wes said. "And there's an attack downtown, probably Conwing, the only other member of his team left. We thought if you three can help at Bio-Lab, the rest of us will protect the city. Eric's already gone, and Jen and I need to go back him up. Will you do it?" 

He only needed a glance at his own Wes and Jen to see that they had already agreed. "Okay," he said, nodding. Not much choice, after all, they could hardly refuse. Still - part of him rebelled, and said they were walking into danger, even more danger than usual. 

- - -

They made good time, swooping down in their flyers only a couple of minutes later. The scene of the battle was easy to spot; a flare of blaster beams flickered through the night from the trees near the Bio-Lab warehouses. Eric didn't bother to land; he simply leaped from the Eagle as it passed over. 

It took only a glance to size up the situation. The yellow, blue, and green Rangers were in a group, sabers drawn. Facing them were the tall, powerful form of Ransik, Nadira with her pink hair gleaming in the moonlight, and a small group of cyclobots. A glint of metal revealed Frax, watching from the outskirts of the battle, obviously ready to either move in or retreat. A squad of Guardians was set up, sniping at the robots and trying to get a clear shot with a couple of larger blaster weapons. 

Ransik had spotted them. Eric saw him snarl and start in their direction, a saber ready in his hand. Nadira was right behind him, looking more determined and grim than Eric ever remembered seeing her. Wes and Jen stepped up next to him as they all came to a stop. 

"I'm surprised you finally have the courage to fight us face to face," Ransik said with a cold glare. 

"And I'm surprised you're here in person, instead of sending one of your mutant flunkies," Jen retorted. 

"You've destroyed two of my 'flunkies', as you call them," Ransik snarled, stabbing a finger at them. "Or rather, your own flunkies have. They were good men, and you'll have to answer for their deaths, too." 

"Deaths? What's he talking about?" Wes asked softly. 

"I have no idea," Jen answered just as quietly. 

"We haven't killed anyone," Eric called. "Which is more than we can say for you. But we're certainly not going to let you do it again!" 

"Agreed. It ends here." Ransik's hand dropped to his belt. Eric tensed, expecting another weapon, or perhaps the twinkling light of a transporter. Instead the gloved fingers pulled out a small object that caught the light as he held it out. A badge, one that Eric recognized instantly. "Time Force!" the mutant growled. "You're under arrest." 

_"What?"_ Eric almost didn't hear Jen's shocked gasp beside him through his own astonishment, but there was no time to wonder about it. Ransik was coming straight at him, Nadira headed for Jen, and Frax joined the fight, his robotic body gleaming gold as he attacked Wes. 

Eric reacted automatically, ducking as a fist swung at him, twisting out of the way as the mutant pivoted and kicked. Ransik was just as fast and strong as he remembered. The last time they had fought, he had ended up demorphed and helpless. He had the Defender out and fired at his opponent as fast as he could before being forced to block another attack. A few feet away, Jen was almost evenly matched with Nadira and Wes was holding his own with Frax. 

But they had backup - or should have. He risked a quick glance in the direction of the other Rangers, to see Lucas, Trip, and Katie a little distance away. They were ready; they had summoned their heavy artillery and assembled them into one large cannon, aimed right for the three human, two mutant, and one robot combatants. 

"A little help here!" Wes shouted as he kicked Frax. 

But that help wasn't what Eric expected. To his alarm, Lucas' voice rang out, sharp against the night air. "Fire!" 

"Wait! We're--" 

Wes's shout was too late, and Eric had the feeling the other Rangers wouldn't have listened anyway. A thick beam of energy stabbed at them, spreading slightly. Time seemed almost to slow as it reached for them. Wes shouted incoherently and dived for Jen, trying to push her down and protect her with his own body. Eric instinctively leaped in front of both of them. 

The world seemed to explode in fireworks. Eric landed on his back, shuddering, with no breath to cry out as he demorphed in a multicolored flash. The last thing he saw was long black hair and the gleam of light reflecting off a silver mask as Ransik loomed over him. 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	8. Mirrorverse part 3

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Mirrorverse - Part 3

- - -

_"This is only another of their tricks." _

"If it is, it's a good one." 

"I say we should take advantage of the opportunity. Just dispose of him." 

"That's not the way we work, my dear. You know that." 

"It's been four years! We have to do whatever it takes to end this!" 

"Not if it includes murder. And you know we cannot interfere with this time by removing him from it." 

The voices were vague at first, as his mind pulled itself out of unconsciousness, but the meaning of the last few sentences penetrated. Eric tried to crack an eye open, and winced as light seemed to stab straight through his head. The voices stopped, and he heard footsteps approach. 

"I know you're awake. Might as well open your eyes." The voice was Ransik's. 

Reluctantly, Eric opened them, blinking at the resulting wave of dizziness and nausea. Ransik was staring down at him, the scars partially hidden by his half-mask and the spikes growing from his flesh even more hideous close up. Nadira was next to him, along with another man who seemed vaguely familiar. The golden form of Frax was standing against the wall across the room. "Where am I?" he mumbled, although he wasn't at all sure he wanted to know. 

"You're in my headquarters. Our timeship." 

Eric tried to shift his arms from their uncomfortable position behind his back and discovered he couldn't. The hard metal of handcuffs bit into his wrists. Also his morpher was gone. And his ankles were tied. He was lying on a couch, in a small, bare room with metal walls, trussed up like a turkey and weak as a kitten. Helpless, one of his least favorite things to be. 

"What do you want with me?" he demanded. 

"There are many possibilities." Ransik reached to pull a chair up and seat himself comfortably. "We can start with information about what you and your friends are up to now." 

"Let me go!" 

"That's not going to happen," Nadira said, her voice harsh and eyes burning with hostility. "The only way you're ever walking out of this room is if you start talking. And make it the truth!" 

"Now, my dear, give him a chance." Ransik leaned a little closer. "However, what my daughter says is true. One way or another, you're going to tell us what we need to know." 

"My name is Eric Myers. I'm commander of the Silver Guardians. And that's all you're going to get." He wasn't sure if that was the wisest thing to say for his own sake, but he wasn't about to tell them everything. 

"Yes. But the Eric Myers I know would not have risked his life to protect his teammates." Ransik crossed his arms and smiled. "As a matter of fact, the Wesley Collins I know would not have sacrificed himself for his woman, and none of you would have had the courage to face us in battle in the first place. Something has changed, hasn't it?" 

"Sacrificed?" Eric pulled in vain at his bonds. "Where are they? What did you do to them?" 

"We did nothing. Your own team, the blue, yellow, and green Rangers, did it. They seemed intent on destroying you along with us, something else that doesn't make sense. We teleported out barely in time. Unfortunately, you were the only one we were able to take with us." 

"And - and what about Wes and Jen? Where are they?" 

Ransik shrugged. "When we departed, they were alive. It was quite touching, the way they both cried your name as we took you. Again, not what I expected, when none of you care for anyone beyond yourselves." 

"Bastard!" 

"Perhaps. But we're not the ones who hurt your teammates." 

The other man spoke up from his position standing behind Ransik's shoulder. "It seems obvious the others betrayed you three. If you cooperate and tell us why, we will not harm you. If you genuinely care for what happens to Collins and Scotts - it seems they have more to fear from the blue, yellow, and green Rangers than from us." 

Eric stared up at them. The Ransik and Nadira he had fought could never have pulled off an act like this - if it _was_ an act. A different dimension. Different personalities. How much more was different - and how was he supposed to know who to trust? The image came to him of Ransik, facing them, holding out his hand with a small silver object glinting in it... "First tell me something. Why did you pull a Time Force badge on us, and try to arrest us?" 

"Because that is what we do. What we have been trying to do for four years." Ransik's eyes were curious now, even as Nadira frowned skeptically. "We are Time Force officers, after all, as you must already know." 

"Officers?" Eric closed his eyes for a moment, feeling sick, not entirely from the aftereffects of being blasted. The badge. Time Force officers. Yes. In this bizarre universe it almost made some kind of bizarre sense. A bitter, ironic laugh bubbled up inside him and burst out, and he looked again to find all three staring at him. "_You're_ Time Force officers?" he said as soon as he had his voice under control again. 

"Yes, we are. Are you really surprised?" 

"And - and I guess Wes, Jen, and I are criminals?" 

Nadira snorted derisively. Ransik frowned but answered as the other man watched, his face as expressionless as Frax's metal one. "Jen Scotts is an escaped criminal from our time in the future, as are Lucas Kendall, Katie Walker, and Trip Regis. You and Wesley Collins have teamed up with them to continue their illegal activities here. Is something wrong with your memory?" 

"What did they do in your time?" 

"Scotts started as what I believe you call a con artist. She progressed to bigger crimes, including the murder of her fiancé, Alex Drake. Kendall, Walker, and Regis have records too long to recite, featuring murder, assault, theft, extortion. One of their victims was Dr. Louis Fericks, who only survived their vicious attack by transforming himself into the robotic form of our friend Frax. In this time, along with you and Collins, they have used Bio-Lab and the Silver Guardians to sell 'protection' to the businesses of Silver Hills. Those who do not cooperate end up driven out, beaten up, or dead." 

"Shit." Eric closed his eyes again, fighting off the urge to throw up. 

"Are you all right?" 

"Oh sure. I'm just fine. In this dimension I'm a gangster and my friends are thieves and murderers; why shouldn't I be fine?" 

"In this dimension? What are you talking about?" It was the man standing behind Ransik. 

Eric looked up at him again, the face suddenly clicking into place in his memory. "Conwing," he said dully. "You were Conwing." 

"And still am." He brought his hands together, touching some hidden trigger. In an instant the ordinary man was gone, replaced by the white, rubbery-skinned creature Eric remembered. 

"Oh, God." 

"Try to relax. You're still feeling the effects of that blast. We treated you, but you'll be weak for a little while longer. Maybe you'd feel better like this." Ransik was leaning over him, his expression concerned. 

Eric couldn't help flinching as the mutant's big hands helped him sit up, and again as Conwing appeared with a glass of water and held it for him. He felt the urge to laugh again, and restrained it with an effort. "I'm surrounded by Ransik, Conwing, Frax, and Nadira, and I'm probably safer than in Wes's house," he muttered. "I can't freaking believe this." 

"I think it's time for you to explain just what's going on." This time it was Nadira again, looking suspicious, but also grudgingly curious. 

"Okay." Still wondering if he was doing the right thing, Eric tried to collect his thoughts as they all watched expectantly. "I was telling the truth when I said I'm Eric Myers, but I'm not the same one you know. Wes, Jen, and I are from another dimension. A parallel reality. One that's a lot different from this one. We're alternate versions of the people you know, but we're not like them. _Man,_ are we not like them. They - it looks like they tricked us. Sent us to fight you in their places..." He trailed off uncertainly. They were all staring at him with varying degrees of astonishment and disbelief - at least the ones whose faces could show expression. 

"Theory predicts that parallel dimensions exist," Frax said finally. "His story is possible." 

"There's no proof. How can we know he's not lying?" Nadira said. 

"And the alternative is... what?" Ransik turned his head to look at her. "That this is some sort of elaborate trick? That Myers has risked his life to fool us? I find that even harder to believe." 

"Well... I don't know." 

"There may be a way to find out," Conwing said. "Contact our operative." 

"Risky, but in this case, worth it." Ransik nodded curtly. "Attend to it." 

"Operative?" Eric asked as Conwing left the room. 

"One of the few humans who has overcome an instinctive distrust of us. You'll understand why I don't wish to reveal that person's identity." 

"If you have someone on the inside, why didn't you already know about us?" 

"The Rangers are clever, and suspicious of everyone. This person is afraid to contact us, and with good reason." Ransik smiled ruefully. "We must take whatever assistance we can find. It's not easy finding allies here when you look like we do. Nadira appears human enough to pass, and Conwing can disguise himself for short periods of time. But the rest of us have had to remain hidden for the most part." 

"Then - why did Time Force send you? Why not a human team?" 

The big mutant rose to his feet and took a few pacing steps. "It was not by choice. When Kendall, Walker, and Regis broke out of prison, with the help of Jen Scotts, their first move was to use fake credentials to enter Time Force and steal a set of morphers. Armed with the Ranger powers, they were able to take a timeship and escape from our time completely. After they arrived here, a major disruption of the timestream began as a result of their interference with history. We - Nadira, Frax, Conwing, and I, along with two other mutant officers, were the only ones powerful enough to have a fighting chance against them. We made it through, but the disruption has made it too dangerous for anyone else to be sent to help us. 

"After a few months went by without success, Time Force managed to send another morpher, with the intention that one of us would use it. However-" 

"Don't tell me," Eric interrupted. "The Eric Myers of this reality found it instead, and took it." 

"Yes. It just made things worse. We hoped at first that he would turn against the others, and he did appear to be at odds with them for a time, but they apparently found it was to their mutual benefit to team up." His eyes dropped to Eric's face again. "I assume things were different in your universe." 

"Very." Eric took a certain satisfaction in their reactions as he told his story, watching their eyes widen, Ransik's in disbelief and Nadira's in indignation. Too bad he couldn't see any reaction in Frax's metallic face, he thought rather bitterly. 

"Where you come from, _we're_ the criminals?" Nadira burst out. "That's ridiculous!" 

"Believe me, from my point of view _this_ is the ridiculous dimension." 

"Well, I don't believe you. What proof do you have? My father a - a killer? The leader of some kind of mutant gang? And me helping him escape? Time Force coming after us, hunting us down?" 

"How do you think _I_ feel?" They glared at each other. 

"This is a trick, Daddy!" she snarled, taking a step closer, her fingers reaching. To Eric's startled dismay, her fingernails elongated into gleaming and very sharp and dangerous-looking claws, aimed at his face. "I know a way to get the truth out of you! Whatever you're trying to do with this - this lie, it won't work!" 

"_Nadira!_" Ransik shouted. "Control yourself! We're not here to commit worse crimes than the people we're after!" 

To Eric's relief, she stopped, hesitated, and with an expression of disgust withdrew her nails, letting them shrink back to normal size as she turned away, arms folded. 

"Ransik's right," a calm voice said from the doorway. "Besides, Eric Myers - this version of him - is telling the truth." The thought flashed through Eric's mind that he never would have dreamed he'd be glad to see Conwing as the white mutant stepped inside. "I contacted our operative, and the story is confirmed. Eric Myers, the one we know, is in the Collins house right now, as are two each of Wesley Collins and Jennifer Scotts. These three people are from an alternate reality. Apparently one in which they work for Time Force, and we do not. In which they are the law, and we are the criminals. Difficult as it is to accept, it's true." 

There was silence for a few seconds, as they all looked at him again. "But _why?_" Nadira finally asked. "If you're not criminals, and not even from this timeline, why did you fight us?" 

"The Eric, Wes, and Jen of this dimension tricked us. And we fell for it. They told us you were criminals, just like in our home world. They said you had killed Alex, and Mr. Collins. Then they said you were attacking again, and asked us to help." Eric shook his head. "I dunno, maybe they thought we'd beat you, without them having to take any chances. Maybe they wanted to get rid of us without having to fight us themselves. I guess Lucas, Trip, and Katie were in on it." 

"Undoubtedly. They seemed quite willing to destroy you along with us." 

"Yeah." Eric raised his head as another thought struck. "Wes and Jen. The others have them. They might... I have to get them out of there!" He saw no trace of reassurance in their expressions, and swallowed, finding it almost too difficult to say as he again looked directly in the faces of these people he had always thought of as his sworn enemies. "From what you've told me about those guys, if you don't help me or at least let me go, they'll kill my friends, if they haven't already." They stared without reaction. "Please!" he ground out through gritted teeth. 

He had seen uncertainty in Nadira's expression, but apparently it wasn't enough to change her mind. "Don't trust him, Daddy," she said as Ransik hesitated. "This whole thing could be a trap." 

"My dear, I fear this ordeal has made you bitter and cynical." The big mutant gave her a surprisingly tender smile. "We must never lose sight of the fact that humanity's capacity for evil is surpassed by its capacity for good. We must always retain the ability to trust, to put our faith in others and hope that it is rewarded. This man is not the Eric Myers of this world; that much seems certain. I am willing to take the chance that he is sincere. Perhaps this is the answer we've been waiting for, the chance to make things right in this time, and to finally go home. But I place my faith in you, too. I won't go ahead without your agreement." 

A few seconds crawled by as Nadira met her father's eyes and Eric held his breath. She frowned slightly. Glanced at him. And then, with a soft sigh, nodded. Conwing leaned over Eric and released the handcuffs, then knelt and untied his ankles. 

"It will be difficult and dangerous," Ransik was saying. "The Collins house is like a fort. Alarms and monitors everywhere, and it's one of the few things they seem willing to stand and fight for. But... as I said, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe you can help us as much as we can help you." 

- - -

Morning had arrived at some point, maybe while he was unconscious, maybe while they had talked, and later made their plans. In any case, the sun was well up in the sky by the time Eric saw the Collins house again, from the main highway where a private road led towards it. Their car slowed, and pulled over out of sight behind a stand of trees. 

"Are you prepared?" Conwing asked from the driver's seat, back in his guise as an ordinary-looking human man. 

"As ready as I'll ever be." 

"A lot depends on your acting abilities. You must convince them you escaped us on your own, make the attempt to rescue or at least warn your friends, and be prepared to help us if - or rather when - it comes to a fight. It won't be easy." 

"I can play my part. Worry about yourselves." 

"Our source seemed worried that something unusual is happening. It may already be too late. Are you sure you want to do this?" 

"I have to try." 

"You are very different from the Eric Myers we know, in several ways." Conwing extended a hand. "Good luck." 

Again struck by the improbability of it all, Eric shook hands with him. "And to you. See you soon, I hope." 

Seconds later, he was alone, watching the trail of dust as the car drove away. It wouldn't go far. Ransik, Nadira, Frax, and a small squad of cyclobots were already in place, in hiding near the house. Not that they would be of much help if anything went wrong. No, once inside that house he would be on his own. 

"Better make this good," he muttered, squared his shoulders, and started down the road. 

- - -

To his surprise it was his own face at the door, dark eyes narrowing before the hint of suspicion disappeared under the usual easy smile. No sign of Philips or any of the other servants. Eric-two beckoned him in. "What a relief to see you! Are you okay?" he asked. 

"Fine. Where are Wes and Jen?" 

"Which ones?" Another smile. 

"Both. Are my Wes and Jen okay?" 

"Last time I looked. How did you get away?" 

"They left me unguarded. I managed to slip the ropes they tied me up with, and grab my morpher." He held up an arm, showing the wrist, grateful that it was still reddened and chafed from the handcuffs. "It was close. Had to fight my way out, but here I am." 

"And I'm glad to see you. Wes and Jen will be too, all four of them." Eric-two cast another glance at him. "What did they do? Did they talk to you? Question you?" 

"No. I was out for a long time. When I woke up, I was alone in the room, and I made my move." Eric smiled grimly. "Wasn't much time for talking after that." 

"I guess you were just lucky." 

"Yeah, I'll say. Can I see my Wes and Jen? They got hit by the same blast I was." 

"Yes. Sorry about that; I guess Lucas, Katie, and Trip got a little carried away in the fight. But Wes and Jen are fine." 

"Good. Where are they?" 

His double reached to pat his shoulder as Eric tried not to show his disgust at the contact. "They're probably still resting, but I'm sure they'll be glad to see you. Let me just find out if they're up. Why don't you wait in the living room; you look like you could stand to sit down, maybe have a drink." 

"Okay." 

He walked inside, waited for his counterpart's footsteps to fade, and quietly slipped back out, padding over the marble floor of the foyer and up the wide, curved stairway. The logical place to look would be Wes and Jen's bedroom. He made it upstairs and paused by the door, listening. Nothing. If they were under guard a knock might alert whoever was inside. If they were here, and alone, he'd have to risk walking in on whatever they were doing, and apologize later. 

But there would be no need. Eric shoved the door open, flattened behind the doorframe while taking a quick look inside, then entered in a half-crouch, alert for any movement. Nothing, and no one. The bed was rumpled, but looked like it hadn't been slept in. As if Wes and Jen had never come back here last night. 

Eric raised his left arm and hesitated. He could use his morpher to call, but again that could alert whoever had Wes and Jen, and at this point he could only assume they were prisoners. Probably better to just locate them with it, and try to get to them. 

"Well! Look what the cat dragged in." 

Eric jumped at the sound of a voice from the direction of the doorway, and turned to see possibly the last person he expected. Gaby, wearing very tight jeans and a very skimpy top, smiling that same amused and seductive smile. He glanced down at his now wrinkled and dirty suit. "Yeah, being captured by mutants tends to be hard on clothes." 

"I heard about that. Are you all right?" 

"I'm fine. Just looking for Wes and Jen." 

"Very loyal, aren't you?" 

"I try." He cautiously watched her come closer, something in her half flirtatious, half mocking manner setting his nerves on edge. 

"Mmm. I like loyalty in a man. On the other hand, you have to know when to think about yourself. You've been through _such_ a terrible time, and I could help you, you know... relax... get comfortable..." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean we could get a _lot_ closer... like you and your own Gaby..." She stopped and looked up at him, a wide-eyed pout on her face. "Do you think I'm as pretty as she is?" 

_Not when you're smirking like that._ "I guess. I mean, yeah, you're the same-" 

She had stepped closer, running her fingers over the front of his shirt. "Then can't you think of better things to do than go looking for your friends? After all, you'll be leaving soon, and we haven't had a chance to get to know each other." 

He took hold of her wrists as her hands began to undo the buttons. "I think we already know each other well enough." 

"Oh, no, I had something much better in mind." She stepped around him, hands grasping his belt, and began to tug him towards the bed. "Do you want to guess what?" 

"I - uh - can't imagine..." 

"Oh, I'm sure you have a better imagination than that. In fact, I'm sure you can think of lots of things..." 

"Hey!" Eric exclaimed in protest as she ran her hands around to the back of his waist and down, grabbed, and pulled him against her. 

"Ring any bells?" she inquired sweetly. 

"Cut it out!" He pulled her groping hands away again, feeling ridiculous, embarrassed, and angry. 

"I'm just trying to be friendly. Besides, it could be so much fun with two of you. Both at the same time... that would be a blast, like identical twins..." 

"_Both!_ Are you _crazy?_" 

"You should try it. You might like it." She was unbuttoning his shirt again, then trying his belt buckle when he stopped her. "Or maybe you, me, and Wes. Nothing like a threesome with two hot guys, and _I_ should know." 

"Christ, no... Stop that!" he exclaimed, trying not to sound panicky as he deflected another grab. 

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you never tried it with _your_ Gaby..." 

"She's not into that kind of stuff!" 

"How boring." She pouted, then smiled again slyly. "I know. Maybe you'd prefer you, me, and Jen...?" 

The image her words suggested was distracting enough that he almost missed it: just a subtle flicker of expression in her face, a quick motion reflected in her eye. Eric whirled to find a gun pointed at him, and his own double's face grinning from behind it. With a giggle, Gaby backed away, out of the line of fire. He started to raise his arm. 

"Don't try it. I can shoot faster than you can morph." Eric-two's smile was still firmly in place, but there was nothing remotely friendly about it. "And yes, this is an ordinary gun, the kind with bullets. The kind that'll blow a big, messy hole in you." 

"You bastard. Where are Wes and Jen?" 

"You'll see them soon enough. Now - take off your morpher." 

"I don't think so." Eric tensed slightly. If he dived over the bed and behind it, morphing on the way... 

"I wouldn't. Unless you want your pretty teammate here to get another one of those big nasty holes blown in her too." It was a new voice. Wes. No, Wes wouldn't be roughly dragging Jen through the doorway, her arms tied behind her back and another gun pressed against her temple. It was Wes-two, with Jen-two helping to control their hostage as she struggled. Lucas was right behind them, stepping to the side to get a good angle of crossfire, his eyes cold and a small blaster in his hand. 

"Eric, don't do it," Jen gasped. 

"But-" He hesitated. 

"That's an order!" 

There was no real choice. Fighting would only get them both killed. "Sorry. I don't take orders from you," Eric said as he slowly and reluctantly unfastened his morpher and dropped it to the floor. Gaby stepped in and scooped it up. He resisted a strong urge to kick her. 

"That's better. I would have hated to spoil the carpeting," Wes-two said cheerfully. "It really is good to see you. As long as you were missing, we weren't sure whether to go ahead with our plan." 

"What plan?" 

"Ah, you'll find out soon enough. Now, shall we all go downstairs to the study and rejoin the others? We have so much to talk about." 

- - -

  
TBC... 


	9. Mirrorverse part 4

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references.

**A/N:** This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way.

Reviews are always appreciated.

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Mirrorverse - Part 4

- - -

"Are the ropes tight? Sorry, but you won't have to put up with it for long."

Eric decided he didn't really want to think too closely about that statement as the gun barrel pressed against the back of his head finally withdrew. He tried pulling at the bonds tying his arms behind his back, and the ones around his ankles, but without much hope. With a distinct sense of déjà vu, he remembered that this was the second time he had been tied up in less than a day. So much for Jen's perfectly safe little experiment in dimensional travel.

They were in the study on the second floor at the back of the house, Wes, Jen, and himself securely bound and sitting on the carpeted floor, propped against a wall. Wes-two had dropped their morphers on the desk and then relaxed in the chair behind it. Jen-two moved to stand beside him while Eric-two leaned on a corner of the desktop. Trip, Katie, and Gaby were sitting in the three other chairs, and Lucas was pacing in the small space in front of an ornamental fireplace, frowning at them.

"Okay, he's back. We've got all three of them. When are you going to tell us about this plan of yours?" Lucas asked.

Wes-two grinned and shrugged. "Now's as good a time as any, I guess."

"Good. We're listening."

"Okay." He leaned back, arms up, lacing his fingers behind his head. "I think we can all agree that things have gotten too hot around here for comfort. We may have gotten rid of two of Ransik's team, but the rest of them aren't going down so easily. I for one am tired of fighting them, especially since we might lose."

"What choice do we have?" Katie asked. "Ransik won't stop until he gets us. Neither will Nadira, Frax, and Conwing."

"We have a choice now, thanks to them," Eric-two said, nodding at the prisoners.

"I'm curious." Wes spoke up from the floor beside Eric. "Did you expect us to defeat Ransik for you?"

"No. You were a distraction. While they were busy with you, the others were supposed to finish all of you off." Eric-two turned his gaze back to Lucas, Katie, and Trip. "But, as you know, they failed."

"Oh, right, blame us!" Lucas said hotly. "If you three had been there, instead of off hiding somewhere keeping your own asses nice and safe, we could be rid of Ransik right now!"

"Calm down," Wes-two interrupted. "No one's blaming anyone. What's done is done, anyway. The thing is to find a way to use them to our advantage now."

"I thought you said you have a plan!"

"The beginnings of one. We need your help to work out the final details. That's why we're all here now." He looked up at Jen-two. "And we might as well get comfortable. Eric, find some more chairs. Sweetie, why don't you and Gaby bring us all something to eat? Nothing fancy, just a snack. I don't know about all of you, but I'm starved."

It took a few minutes to bring another three chairs from an adjoining room, and for Jen-two and Gaby to return with a large bowl of popcorn, a couple of bags of potato chips, and a plate of crackers and cheese. 'Brain food', Wes-two called it with a laugh. They handed out drinks as they all settled down, with Jen-two perched on the edge of the desk. No one offered the prisoners anything.

"Okay," Lucas said as soon as he had helped himself to popcorn and passed the bowl to Katie. "What's your idea?"

Wes leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "We have two options here. Either destroy Ransik and his team, or get them to leave and go home to the future. We've tried the first without much success, so now we'll try the second."

"Get Ransik to go home?" Trip asked. "But how? Why should he give up and leave?"

"He'll leave if he thinks we're no longer a problem." Wes took a sip of his soda and held up the glass, studying it thoughtfully. "It occurred to Eric and me that our doubles could be useful as exactly that - our doubles. Let Ransik think we're taken care of."

"You mean..."

"Right. We've already rigged the house with explosives. All I have to do is trigger them-" he held up a small box, "and the place will go up like a firecracker and burn to the ground. They'll be found inside. Tragic. Ransik will figure his mission is accomplished, and return in triumph. With them gone, we're in the clear."

Eric swallowed, almost as shaken by the casual tone and by Eric-two's and Jen-two's calm acceptance as by the scheme itself. All three of these versions of themselves seemed completely willing to kill them in a particularly cruel way, apparently without a second thought. Even this world's Gaby seemed completely comfortable with it, looking more bored than anything else. He exchanged a glance with his own Wes and Jen, seeing the same horror in their eyes.

"Wait a minute." Trip was staring at Wes-two suspiciously. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yeah, like _us_," Katie said.

"Our bodies won't be found in the fire. Ransik will know we're still alive, and he won't give up until he gets us," Lucas stated flatly.

"Hm. Maybe you're right." Wes-two sighed. "How about this: we clean out Bio-Lab, take my family money, and start all over somewhere else. Investigating the fire and waiting for the bodies to be identified should at least slow Ransik down."

"But he'll still track us down sooner or later." Lucas blinked, raising a hand to rub his forehead.

"You could be right. Well, can you think of anything better?"

"I'm trying, but..." Now Katie was looking strange.

"You're up to something... I can tell..." Trip swayed. "I don't feel so good."

"Me too..." Katie gasped. "What's... What's happening?"

Lucas dropped his glass and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. "You - you poisoned our drinks?"

"Nothing so cliché. It was the popcorn, actually. A tasteless, odorless, very fast-acting knockout drug, thanks to Dr. Zaskin."

"You... you traitor...!" Lucas' knees buckled and he slid to the floor. Trip had already quietly collapsed. Katie managed to raise her hands, fingers groping for her morpher, before her eyes rolled up and she toppled from her chair.

"You're all absolutely right," Wes-two was saying cheerfully. "As long as Ransik knows you're still alive, he'd be after you, and us. So we went for the obvious solution. When the house burns down, there'll be six victims, not just three. Besides, I hate to leave loose ends, don't you?" He craned his neck to see them over the desktop. "How rude. They're not even listening."

"Are you going to let him do this?" Jen demanded harshly of her own double. "They're your partners! Your friends! You can't just kill them like this!"

Jen-two shrugged. "Why not? They're just in the way now. We sure don't need them where we're going."

"Where you're going? What do you mean?"

"She means," Eric-two answered, "that we've decided this dimension has lost its charm. Especially after we heard about yours."

"Ours?" Jen said faintly. Eric saw Wes go pale, and felt a wave of sick dread.

"Yes, yours. We would have preferred to stay here, where we've already got a nice little operation set up. We considered just disappearing after the fire, hiding out until Ransik leaves and then returning to pick up where we left off, but it would be rather difficult to explain where your bodies came from. While we have a convenient arrangement with the police, even our friends in the Department would have trouble with six suspicious deaths. Besides, there would always be the possibility that Time Force would find out and send another team to get us. Your dimension sounds like a nice place, with almost as many advantages as ours. Not as much power for us, but we'll change that in time. And one big extra: no Ransik and a Time Force that thinks we're on their side."

"From what you said last night it sounded like you'll be ready to leave very soon, and we could tell you were getting suspicious," Wes-two said. "We went ahead with our plan A: sending you against Ransik in hopes that both of you would be destroyed. Unfortunately, thanks to our former teammates' incompetence, it didn't work out the way we wanted."

"What we said last night? You've been spying on us?" Eric said.

"Yes. I like to know what's going on in my own house." He sat up and hit a button on a control box on his desk. A panel on the bookcase behind him slid aside, revealing a panel of small television monitors. Eric recognized views of the foyer, living room, the upstairs hallway, even the room they were in now... and the bedroom where Wes and Jen had been put. Wes-two grinned at his counterpart and Jen. "You two put on quite a show for us after that conversation. I think I learned a couple of new techniques."

Wes was turning an interesting shade of dull red, whether from embarrassment or fury or both, Eric couldn't tell. Jen's only reaction was narrowed eyes and compressed lips.

"Didn't figure on you getting captured, Eric, but stuff happens," Wes-two went on. "You conveniently escaped without telling Ransik who you are or where you're from, so it's all good. Now that we have this," he held up Jen's communication device, "and we have _you_, we can put our plan B into action, and escape into your dimension. All we have to do is wait for your Time Force to be ready to pick us up, which I figure is any time now."

"You'll never get away with it," Wes growled.

"Heroic, but unrealistic. Of course we'll get away with it. Ransik will assume we're dead, so Time Force won't be looking for us, even if they had a way to follow us into another dimension. In your world, who's going to suspect? We'll walk right into your lives, and into control of Bio-Lab and Silver Hills."

"Well, close," Eric-two said. "But not quite. _I'll_ walk into control of Bio-Lab. You, sadly, will be staying here." The usual smile was on his face, but the gun in his hand was now aimed right at his partner.

A flash of frighteningly cold anger came and went over Wes-two's face, leaving it blank except for watchful eyes. "I should have expected this, shouldn't I? So much for honor among thieves."

"Yeah. _They_ already found out about that." Eric-two waved the gun in the direction of Lucas, Katie, and Trip. "I figure if we're starting over in a new world, there's no reason for me to be in second place. So - I'm going. You're staying. If you're lucky, you can hide out until Ransik leaves, and then start over."

"How far do you think you'll get without me?"

Eric-two snorted. "Far enough. After I show up and explain how you were killed in this dimension, Mr. Collins will need all the support he can get. I should be in an excellent position to step in and take over - especially if I have the grieving widow at my side." He gave Jen-two a considering look. "How about it, Jen? You're smart enough to know what's best for you. Play along and you can run Bio-Lab with me, which is more than you'll get from _him_. Or - stay here and take your chances that Ransik will be fooled into leaving."

"Jen?" Wes-two eyed Jen-two.

"Sorry, baby. Share Bio-Lab with Eric or run from Ransik with you? It's not even a choice." She got off the desk and walked to stand at Eric-two's side. "Besides, maybe I could use a - change."

"He's not changing anything," Gaby said. She was on her feet, glaring. "Eric's doing this so he can take _me_ along. Tell them!"

Eric-two kept his eyes on Wes-two, but he grinned. "Sorry, Gabs, but that's not doable. How would I explain you? Besides, I already know all your - tricks. Amusing as you are, it'll be even more fun persuading your double to learn them too."

"You slimy pervert!" Eric strained against his bonds again.

"I prefer to think of myself as - inventive."

"You can't leave me behind! Ransik will get me!" Gaby was facing him angrily.

"You could always try your charms on him. You've gone through just about every man in Silver Hills; why not a mutant or two?"

"You bastard!" With a snarl of rage, Gaby sprang at him, her nails raking at his face. He raised his free hand to protect himself, and slapped her away, knocking her to the floor. But Jen-two had taken advantage of the distraction. With a quick movement, she picked up a small statue from a nearby bookcase and brought it down hard on Eric-two's gun hand. It slipped from his grip. He grabbed at it, but...

"Don't move." The quiet command brought everyone's attention back to Wes-two. His gun was back in his hand and aimed at Eric-two, his face calm but the blue of his eyes as cold as ice. "Thanks, hon, I should have known I could count on you," he said as Jen-two stepped away and Gaby backed off, staring wide-eyed.

"Now, Wes, don't do anything you'll regret," Eric-two said, raising his hands.

"Oh, I won't regret this." Wes-two paused, smiled, and pulled the trigger. The gun fired, the sound deafening inside the closed room. No one moved for a few seconds as the echoes died away, until Eric-two looked down at the red spot growing on his chest, touched it hesitantly, looked up with an expression of confusion, slowly fell to his knees and toppled onto his face with a dull thud.

"You - you killed him!" Gaby gasped, a hand over her mouth.

"Of course I killed him. I killed my own father to get control of Bio-Lab; do you think I'd let a low-life like _him_ get in my way now?" He glanced at Wes, that humorless smile still on his face. "Oh, right, your father is still alive, isn't he? Well, accidents do happen. I intend to be in charge again."

"You... you..." Wes sputtered, obviously unable to come up with a bad enough word. Eric had to admit his own more extensive vocabulary didn't include an accurate description of this kind of monster either.

"Looks like our acquaintance is almost at an end," Wes-two said. "Too bad. I really was starting to like you." He handed Jen's communicator to his own Jen and picked up the device with the trigger for his firebombs. "Well, your Time Force is probably waiting for our call. Might as well get this show on the road."

A movement caught Eric's eye. On one of the television monitors still visible behind the desk, he saw motion, shadowy forms, but recognizable. It might mean a way out of this trap, he realized, carefully keeping any reaction from his face. But they needed another minute or so. Had to keep the other Wes and Jen distracted. Keep them talking. "Wait!" There had to be some way to shake them up... "Sorry, but I've got bad news for you, pal. Ransik knows exactly what's going on, and who we really are. He'll figure out you've gone to our dimension."

"Really? I guess you were lying about not talking to him. Not too surprising; people don't escape from Ransik very easily. Doesn't much matter, anyway; he won't be sure if we escaped or you simply went home. Even having an extra dead Eric will just confuse him. Besides, our Time Force doesn't even have dimensional travel yet. It's almost impossible that they'll ever be able to track down which dimension we've gone to."

Wes, beside him, tensed subtly. He had seen it too. "Then why kill us?" he said. "Just leave us here!"

"Well, I really would like to, but as I said before; I hate to leave loose ends."

"Aren't you burning your bridges?" Jen asked. "What if Time Force can't get you out of here?"

"They will. Even if they don't, we can still disappear and start over somewhere else. Speaking of disappearing, no point in delaying it any longer." He looked down at the box in his hands.

"What...? Look!" It was Gaby, pointing at the monitors.

Wes-two and Jen-two whirled. He snarled, a feral sound of anger, fear, and hate. "Ransik!" He stepped closer to the screens, fists clenched. "How did he get past the alarms and traps? Why isn't anyone watching?" He growled again. "I left Philips in charge of surveillance... I'll cut his throat for this!"

"What are we going to do?" Jen-two sounded panicky.

Wes-two slapped at the device on his desk. They all heard a low boom: a sound Eric recognized as an explosion, in the house but not close. "That should slow them down. Call Time Force. Tell them to get us now." He ran to the door and locked it.

She already had the communicator in her hands; now she fumbled with it, cursing as she dropped it on the desktop and snatched it up again.

"You idiot! Hurry up!"

"I'm _trying_!" She got the top open and flipped the control. A surge of static buzzed through the room, even as there was a heavy thump on the door and a deep voice shouted from behind it. "Trip!" she cried.

_"... Jen? Wha... wrong..."_

"I can't get a good signal!"

Wes-two crossed the room and crouched in front of Jen. "Tell us how to tune it in!" he growled, roughly grabbing her chin. She stared up at him defiantly.

Everyone was screaming at once, Wes yelling at his double to leave Jen alone, Wes-two ignoring him and repeating his demand, Jen-two calling Trip, Ransik shouting through the door, Eric calling back to him. A loud and sudden bang blasted through the noise, leaving silence in its wake as the door flew open, revealing a very large, very angry-looking mutant.

Ransik advanced into the room, long black hair flying about his shoulders, glaring out of his one good eye, taking in the situation at a glance. "At last," he said. "I've been waiting a very long time for this."

"You may have to wait a little while longer." Wes-two raised his arm and touched his morpher, followed by Jen-two. In a blaze of light, they stood in the red and pink Ranger suits.

Ransik smiled. "You know the two of you can't defeat me."

"And he's got us to back him up," Nadira said, appearing at her father's side. Conwing silently stepped up next to them. "Your other Rangers can't help you. Give up and make it easy on yourselves."

For a moment, Wes-two seemed to be considering it. Then he leaped forward, his chrono-saber appearing in his hand, and slashed at them. As they dodged, he turned to run, heading for the side door that Eric knew led to the master bedroom and back to the hallway, with Jen-two at his heels. The three mutants had their blasters out in a flash and fired together. The three beams hit the pink Ranger in the back. With a scream, she fell. Wes-two didn't even look back.

He might have made it, but Eric saw Wes move beside him, sliding down and thrusting his bound feet out. Wes-two stumbled over him, staggering, delayed just long enough for another round of blaster fire to strike him. He collapsed, hitting the floor and demorphing.

"After so long... and it's all over in a few seconds," Ransik said softly. He stepped to where a demorphed Jen-two was lying on the floor, dazed, and pulled her upright. "You're under arrest. So are your teammates. Your trial is long overdue, but you'll face justice as soon as we return to our own time."

Wes-two rolled over and looked up, his expression shaken and frightened. "What... what are you going to do to me?" he asked.

"Nothing, beyond taking your morpher. We have no authority to arrest someone native to this time. However, I believe you will still have to deal with the law here."

"Yes, he will. I'll make sure of that." They all turned at the voice. A middle-aged man in a suit entered the room cautiously, staring at the bodies on the floor and glancing around nervously until his eyes fell on Wes-two and narrowed. He was holding what Eric recognized as a miniature tape cartridge in his hand.

"Philips!" Wes-two exclaimed.

"Yes, Philips. Are you really so surprised?"

"You were in on this! You brought Ransik here!"

"Quite. For years I've had to put up with watching you get away with murder, literally. But now - your power is gone. The other Rangers are gone. The Silver Guardians were loyal to Mr. Myers, not to you. Even the police you bribed to look the other way will be unable to ignore this. Now you have nothing."

Wes-two climbed to his feet. "I still have my money. You'll regret turning against me!"

"No." Philips held up the tape. "Not after the police see this. It's an excellent recording of you shooting Mr. Myers, and admitting that you murdered your father. You were a greedy and selfish child, Master Wesley, and I've seen you grow into an unnatural creature with no conscience, one who could kill his own father for money and power. I only regret that I was forced to wait this long to see you pay for your crimes."

"Wait a minute," Eric said. "You were their operative on the inside, weren't you?"

"Indeed, sir. I gave information to Mr. Ransik when I could do so safely, and I arranged his entrance tonight." A corner of Philips' mouth turned up slightly. "Sometimes it's true: the butler did it."

"Ransik." The metallic voice came from the doorway, where the golden form of Frax was standing amid a few cyclobots. "We cannot control the fire. It's spreading. We've made sure the servants are out and notified the fire-fighting authorities, but we should vacate this house as soon as possible."

"Right. Conwing, Nadira, get them out of here." He nodded at the inert forms on the floor. Conwing stepped over to them, heaved both Lucas and Katie over his shoulders, and started out. Nadira demonstrated her mutant strength by lifting Trip and following him. "Frax, take charge of the prisoners and go with them," Ransik went on.

"Um... what about me?" Gaby said. "I didn't do anything!"

"That's not for me to say, young lady. You will be turned over to the local police along with Wesley Collins, probably to be charged as an accessory."

"Couldn't you - you know - let me go? Pretty please? I could make it worth your while." She smiled at Ransik coyly. He shook his head, frowning. She turned her smile on Philips next, who returned it with an expression of disgust. "Oh well. Can't blame a girl for trying," she sighed, and joined Wes-two and Jen-two as Frax herded them out.

Ransik was already kneeling, working on the ropes tying them. Eric felt them give, spent a second or two rubbing sensation back into his hands, and then fumbled with the bonds on his ankles. In another few moments all three of them were climbing back to their feet, wincing at the resulting pins and needles as cramped muscles protested their treatment. Ransik was already at the door, beckoning them impatiently. They stumbled after him, stopping only long enough to grab their morphers and Jen's communicator.

Only half a minute faster and they might have made it. From the top of the curved stairway Eric could see daylight through the front door, and saw Wes-two look back at them from outside, a malicious smile on his face and a hand inside his pocket. As Eric stopped, a trickle of alarm making him look around apprehensively, there was another booming sound - louder this time - a deafening roar knocking them off their feet like a solid object hitting them. A flash of bright light, a wall of heat, pain as a shower of fragments peppered them, a wave of chokingly thick smoke. Eric found himself on hands and knees on a floor suddenly littered with plaster and wood.

"Another firebomb!" he heard Jen gasp.

"We're cut off!" Wes said. The stairway leading down to the foyer and to the front door was now a crumbled ruin, with flames starting to lick up through the debris. They might get through it morphed, but...

"Watch out!" Ransik's shout was almost drowned out by another explosion. This time the high ceiling over the marble floor began to disintegrate, chunks falling to shatter like small bombs. Eric fought back a surge of dismay at seeing this beautiful place destroyed, and glanced at Wes's face, wondering how much worse he must feel.

"Come on," Wes said grimly. "Back past the bedrooms. We can climb out the window onto the roof."

"Right, and then we can morph and jump down," Jen said. "But..."

"What about you?" Eric asked Ransik.

"The little hop from here to the ground? Pah, it's nothing. Just want to make sure you're all right."

Eric caught Jen's surprised look, but she said nothing as they ran through the hallway. Ransik stepped past them and threw the window open with a heave, then climbed out and reached back to help Jen. In another couple of minutes they were standing on the back part of the roof. From here the house seemed almost normal... except for the pillar of smoke rising from the front and the wail of approaching sirens.

_"Jen!" _

"Trip..." Jen held up her communicator. Eric realized Trip could have been calling them for some time, and they hadn't heard.

_"Are you guys all right? What's happening?"_

"We're okay. Now." She looked up at Wes and Eric, her face pinched.

_"We can transport you any time you're ready."_

"Good." Wes cast another grim look at the smoke drifting from this duplicate of his home. "Let's get the hell out of here."

It was fast. Jen had hardly broken the connection when the familiar funnel of silver light appeared, spinning and twinkling in the hazy sky above them. Ransik stepped back, watching, and then raised a hand. "Farewell, and good luck, Rangers."

"Good luck to you, too," Eric said. "And thanks." Wes and Jen nodded.

And then it had them; the wall of light cut them off from this world and took them away, hopefully home, giving him time to wonder what unimaginable alternate realities it was carrying them through, what other possibilities lay out there... Bizarre as this one had been, he knew there must be stranger ones, many of them. Quickly, it faded, and was gone, leaving them standing on the back roof of the Collins house, under a clear blue sky.

- - -

  
TBC... 


	10. Landing

Eric, Wes, Jen and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.   
Gaby is mine. 

Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references. 

**A/N:** The end of another story - there will be a sequel, but not right away. A virtual cookie to anyone who catches the hint of things to come. 

I'd like to thank my beta, the lovely and talented MzDany. Check out her stories, she's great. Also, of course, my equally lovely and talented (but not at writing) RL betas, Cecelia and Jenny. Many thanks also to everyone who read and especially everyone who reviewed - I really value the feedback, and often have gotten valuable ideas from it. 

Reviews are always appreciated. 

**Reversals of Fortune**

* * *

Landing

- - -

"We're back. Aren't we?" Jen said hopefully. 

"Yes." Wes looked at Eric. "Did you feel it too?" 

"Yeah. Thought it was just my imagination, the first time. But yeah, it's like - like clicking back into place." 

"Finally." Jen's shoulders slumped as she sighed. "What a relief." 

"Well, we'd better get down from here, or someone'll call the cops." 

As they entered the Collins house again Eric suppressed a shiver, looking up at the wide stairway and high ceiling and remembering the destruction they had been in the middle of only minutes before, and another as he wondered what was happening now in that twisted reality. Whatever it was, his own double would not be a part of it. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. While he couldn't bring himself to feel grief or sympathy, definitely it had been a disturbing sensation to watch another version of himself die. It was an experience he was not anxious to repeat. 

"Master Wes!" The happy cry announced the arrival of Philips, his controlled British façade forgotten for the moment as he greeted them with a grin. 

"Wes! Jen! You're back!" This time it was Mr. Collins, enveloping first his son and then Jen in a hug. Eric hung back from the family festivities, but suddenly found himself grabbed and hugged also, to his embarrassment. "Eric... Are all of you all right? What happened? Where have you been? God, we've been worried sick!" 

"Dad, slow down," Wes said with a smile. "Yes, we're all right. The dimensional transfer went wrong, but you probably figured that out. Where we've been is a long story. And we were pretty worried ourselves." 

Collins looked at him more closely. "You all look like you've had a rough time." 

"Some of it wasn't very pretty," Jen said quietly. 

"Well, it's certainly good to have you back." 

"Good to see you too, Dad. Really good." Wes's face brightened. "And we've got a surprise for you." 

"A surprise? What is it?" 

"Well, we don't know yet." Wes grinned and circled Jen's shoulders with an arm. "You'll have to wait about - how long, Jen? Another eight months?" 

"More like seven and a half, I think. Of course, we could find out before." 

"I dunno, I kind of want to wait and find out the old-fashioned way, when we see him or her." 

"Wait a minute..." Collins stared at them. "You mean...?" 

"Yeah, Dad, you're going to be a grandpa!" 

Eric quietly edged away under cover of the following commotion and headed for the phone. He glanced back while listening to it ring, watching the three of them, with Philips hovering around. Collins was in the middle of some nonsense about Jen being 'radiant'. The way they carried on, you'd think there weren't enough babies in the world already. No, nothing like a little screaming bundle of dirty diapers to make your life complete. Still, if he was being honest with himself - something that seemed to be becoming a bad habit - he knew that little twinge he felt was envy. Uneasily he wondered if someday there would be a rug rat or two in his own future. Hopefully his very distant future. 

The sound of the phone being picked up caught his attention, and then Gaby's voice on the other end, carrying just a hint of hopeful eagerness. _"Hello?"_

"Hi, Gabs. I'm back." 

_"Eric! Oh, Eric..."_ He heard a deep, shaky breath. _"Are you all right? Where are you?"_

"I'm fine. At Wes's place." 

_"What happened to you?"_

"Long story. I'll tell you later." 

_"Well - are you coming home? Should I come get you?"_

"I kind of want to do something first. I think you'll like it too. Listen... meet me at the beach. You know where." 

_"The beach? What for?"_

"You'll find out." He grinned, and gently lowered the phone. A glance showed the happy family wandering off into the living room, having apparently forgotten all about him. Didn't matter. He had his own return to celebrate, in his own way. 

- - -

The sky was darkening into twilight, pinks and purples lining the clouds along the horizon as the sea breeze began to carry a hint of chill. He scanned the ocean view, hearing the faint call of seagulls against the background whisper of waves on the sand. Nothing else. Except... the sound of a car engine from the highway as it slowed and stopped, then the faint snap and clunk of the door being opened and closed as the occupant got out. He was looking out over the ocean again when Wes joined him. They stood side by side silently for a few moments. 

"You okay?" Wes asked at last. 

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" 

"Well, you just took off from the house without saying goodbye." 

"You guys looked like you were busy." 

"You could have joined us, you know." 

Eric shrugged. "I had something to do." 

"What? Come out here and look at the sunset?" 

"Pretty much." He smiled to himself. 

"Eric..." 

"I met Gaby here." 

"Thought that was her car I saw. So - where is she?" 

Eric nodded out at the ocean. "Out there." 

Wes turned a puzzled face to him. "What did you do, drown her?" 

"No, I didn't drown her. She's using the Eagle. Took off over the ocean." 

"The Eagle?" Wes's eyes fell to Eric's wrist. "Oh my God. You gave her your morpher?" 

"Yep." 

"_Why?_" 

"Before we left, she was talking about wanting to be a superhero. Yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but she thought it would be exciting." 

"She's right. It _is_ exciting." 

"After the Gaby in the second dimension we visited... Well, I thought she deserves to - to try it out, you know? Have that experience, at least once. So I lent her the morpher." 

Wes was quiet. After a moment, Eric turned to find him grinning. "I bet she was surprised," he said. 

"Yeah, you could say that." Eric smiled again at the memory of the brightness of her eyes when she took the morpher and said the same words she had heard him say so many times. The way she had looked down at herself in amazement when the transformation was complete. It was well worth the discomfort of having the morpher off his wrist, even temporarily. 

"Are you sure she'll give it back?" 

"Very funny, rich... I mean Wes. Actually, I'm glad you showed up. You might have to go after her." He glanced back out over the water. "I shouldn't have let her fly the Eagle. She'll get lost." 

"Lost? You're kidding, right?" 

"You have no idea. Gaby could get lost in our back yard. No sense of direction at all. It's like a blind spot or something." 

He heard Wes laugh. They stood in companionable silence again for a while as Eric strained his eyes. Nothing, nothing but seagulls in the distance. 

"When you left like that, we thought something might be wrong," Wes said after a time. 

Eric looked again, and saw the concern under his friend's carefully casual expression. He knew Wes well enough to guess what he was thinking. What the three of them had just been through could have shaken anyone up. Wes was worried that it had been enough to bring on one of Eric's darker moods, the ones that cut him off from everyone and had him believing no one cared, that he didn't deserve to have anyone care. They had become rare in the last few years, but he knew the reasons for them were still there, and always would be. 

"It wasn't easy, seeing other versions of myself," he said slowly. "Jen was right, I didn't like any of them, maybe because they were so much like me. But that last guy..." 

"He wasn't anything like you." 

"I'm not so sure. He reminded me of the way I used to be, when I was so desperate for power that I stole the morpher and fought all of you over it." 

Wes shook his head. "Look, I think I know what you're talking about. I didn't exactly enjoy watching another version of me commit cold-blooded murder. Made me wonder whether I'm like that, just a little. Whether I have a little of that - that evil in me." 

"Everyone has a dark side, Wes. I should know." 

"So do I. But I realized none of us have a side that's even close to being that dark. Yeah, maybe they were versions of us, but that doesn't mean we'll ever act like that. No, he wasn't like you, not at all." 

"You want to know which one really bothered me? The second one. The one who couldn't stand to live without power. The one who ran out on everyone when he didn't have it anymore. The one who really is just like me." 

"He showed up and risked his neck, power or not, when it counted. Like you always have. Give him - and yourself - a little credit." 

"Maybe. I guess." Eric sighed. "That's one of the reasons I gave Gaby the morpher. For her, but also for me. Just to know that I could let go of it." He scanned the horizon again. "Dammit, where is she? What's taking so long?" 

"Are you worried about Gaby or the morpher?" 

"Both." 

"She can just ask it for directions, can't she?" 

"Yeah, but I didn't have time to tell her that before she took off." He eyed Wes's morpher. "Maybe you should call her." 

"Will you relax?" Wes gave him an amused glance. "Don't worry so much. She's a Ranger now, thanks to you." 

Eric decided to ignore that. "So where's Jen?" 

"Back at the house, hopefully getting some sleep. She has to rest for two now, you know." 

"Yeah. Your dad sounded pretty excited." 

"Understatement. I think he's on the phone now, buying every piece of baby equipment in Silver Hills. Man, I'm still trying to get used to the idea. A baby. It's gonna be great, though. Watching Jen get big. Feeling it start to move." 

"Morning sickness. Mood swings." 

"Bringing it home. The first time it says 'Daddy'." 

"Waking up in the middle of the night. Changing diapers." 

"The first day of school. The prom. College..." 

"Temper tantrums. Arguments. Bringing home friends you don't like." 

"You are the most cynical person I know." 

Eric snorted. "Bet your ass, rich- I mean Wes." 

"You're just doing that to make me feel guilty, aren't you?" 

"Is it working?" 

"A little. Sorry I yelled at you. You can call me anything you want." 

"Thanks. Wes." 

Wes smiled at him. When he spoke again after a brief silence filled only with the soft sound of ocean water and distant seagulls, his voice was thoughtful. "You know, maybe it sounds funny but I'm not sorry this happened. Getting lost in other dimensions again. We ended up doing something good in all three of them." 

"I guess you think destiny had a plan for us to pop into each one and instantly fix all their problems." 

"Well - we didn't exactly fix everything - but we helped. We made a difference." 

"Next time I think destiny should find another couple of errand boys. Why can't someone from another dimension show up out of nowhere and save _our_ butts once in a while?" 

"Hey, you're right! Maybe next time we're in trouble, Erica will come here to help us out!" 

"Oh God, no," Eric groaned. "I'd rather let the Earth be destroyed by an army of monsters from outer space than run into _her_ again." 

Wes was still laughing when his morpher bleeped. He raised it to his face as they heard a hesitant female voice. _"Wes? Wes, can you hear me?"_

"Yeah, I hear you, Gaby. What's up?" 

_"I'm kind of using Eric's morpher..."_

"He knows," Eric said, leaning close enough to talk into it. "What's the problem?" 

_"Oh, Eric, it's so exciting! I love flying in this thing! Did I say thank you for letting me use it?"_

"Yes, a few dozen times. So everything's okay? Where are you?" 

_"Well..."_ Her voice was plaintive._ "You'll laugh at me."_

"Don't tell me, let me guess." 

_"Where's the damn beach? I'm **lost**!"_

- End -


End file.
